Site crafted and built by Kick Collective
Chris Waller is going to the Magic Millions Stayers Cup with Amovatio after he convinced him he was a good chance with a strong win in an open 1550-metre handicap at Canterbury on Saturday.
Waller will send Amovatio to the Gold Coast’s biggest day on January 10 for his final run this campaign along with a small team, including Whittington, Murder Of Crows and Champagne Cath.
“There’s no use going up there unless you’re going to be a winning chance, it’s as simple as that,” Waller said.
Amovatio showed a fantastic turn of foot, thanks to the solid tempo set up front by Black Jag and Biloxi, to hold off Scream Machine by three-quarters of a length.
“With his style of getting back and running home, you often need tempo to suit those types of horses … so that’s beaten him a few times,” Waller said. “When conditions are run to suit, he’s pretty good.
“It’s not ideal [getting back], but at Magic Millions day they race with so much pace on and they’re normally charging home if they’ve got some ability. Black Jag rallied well, but it was good to see Amovatio cruise up like that. He’s been a very good horse to us and he’s never very far away when he doesn’t win.”
After throwing a leg over Amovatio for the first time, Tommy Berry said he had already booked his ticket to the Gold Coast to ride the four-year-old.
“I held him as tight as I could and, while Tye [Angland on Scream Machine] was back there in a bit of trouble, I took off and it seemed to be the right move,” Berry said.
“Once I was there I wasn’t waiting for anything because if I did he would have. Jimmy [Cassidy] has timed him to perfection on a number of occasions and still hasn’t been able to get the money.”
Scream Machine flew home for second and trainer Jason Coyle is considering big races in the autumn.
“He’s a bit of a victim of his own success in he’s up in the weights and hopefully he won’t be as far from the winner next time they meet,” he said.
“Now we just have to work out whether we freshen up for a race like the Chipping Norton Stakes, where there might only be a field of eight, and try to pick up one before all the big races come around.
“And he is proven at weight-for-age level after the Brisbane carnival now.”
Source: smh.com.au