Michael finds lot of value
THREE years ago, Michael Costa spotted a filly at the Magic Millions sales on the Gold Coast he believed he could train into a champion.
It cost $70,000 from an ownership cabal of 15 partners to buy her.
Today, Costa and co’s investment in four-year-old Malahide could be earned back twofold in less than two minutes of racing.
The rags to riches nature of racing’s smallest players is the real magic behind the Millions, where the skill of identifying and training horses from previous sales can trump the bloated auction budgets of industry giants come race day.
A horse bought for $70,000 is no worse a chance than a horse bought for $1 million once those barrier gates are cleared.
“It’s a big event for anyone,” Costa said of today’s $250,000 Magic Millions Rising Stars race for fillies and mares aged three and four.
“It’s a lot of money on offer. It’s one of the bigger prizemoney races we’ll compete in all year.
“Malahide is a progressive filly and she looks to be a live chance in a quarter-million dollar race, which is great.
“We paid $70,000 for her which is a lot of money but still relatively cheap in comparison to the big scheme of the sale.
“She won her first race and then won the (Aquis Farm Crystal Slipper) in town, so she had a very successful first prep.
“She’s always been a horse we’ve had a lot of time for and was always going to be a horse that progresses well over time.
“(Her chances) will depend on luck and the pace of the race and how the track plays, but I wouldn’t want to be going into the race with any other horse.”
Racing on home turf is an advantage Costa won’t be taking lightly against a large, talented field of southeast Queenslanders and a flutter of interstate runners.
Malahide, who has won four of her 12 starts and $219,200 in prizemoney, is an $8 chance in Ladbrokes’ market.
Grand Scholar, the winner of her past three starts in Victoria, is $2.90 favourite.