3 minute read
Stephen Miller’s stable star tackles The BYD Quokka first-up after just missing the placings 12 months ago.
Trucking Nominees and Dan Morton have joined forces yet again, selecting now seven-year-old Magnificent Andy to tackle The BYD Quokka on April 18th.
After finishing fourth last year, beaten just one length, trainer Stephen Miller will follow the same path, heading into The Quokka first-up on the back of two trials.
Racing & Sports suggested The Quokka may have been a bit beyond Magnificent Andy last year, but he surprised most when going close as an $81 chance and running a Racing & Sports Rating of 112.
He went on to better that figure when narrowly beaten in the Hyperion Stakes (1600m) later that campaign, but it's important to note that Andy is a very solid campaigner at that 112 mark.
In fact, the son of Magnus has only dipped below a RAS Rating of 110 in two runs (out of nine) in the past twelve months – a testament to his reliability.
We saw 12 months ago that his reliability held him in good stead, and it could again if those at the top of the ratings don't run their race, à la Front Page and Overpass in 2025.
Magnificent Andy rates similarly to Roma Cup winner Rope Them In at their peaks, though when you put them head-to-head, Andy has had the better of Rope Them In in the three times they've faced off, yet he's only jumped shorter than Rope Them In once.
In last year's Quokka, it was $81 vs. $51 when Andy ran fourth (Rope Them in 10th) and in their most recent outing, The Gold Rush in December, Andy was $41 when beating home Rope Them In who jumped an $8 chance.
Although Rope Them In has come out and won the Roma Cup, running to a RAS Rating of 114 – that only matches the peaks run by Magnificent Andy last campaign.
It creates a conundrum heading into The $5 million BYD Quokka, being a $31* with TABtouch at the time of writing.
Dubbed 'The People's Champ' in the RAS Office, he's a horse you would love to see win and one you can't see running a poor race on April 18.
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