Stars set to shine on Gold Coast

Australia’s leading jockeys and trainers are converging on the Gold Coast ahead of this Saturday’s feature $1.6 million Aquis Raceday headlined by the TAB Wave.

Melbourne Cup-winning jockey Mark Zahra and fellow premier interstate hoops Jamie Kah, Craig Williams and Tim Clark are among the stars landing on the Glitter Strip for the start of the two-week Gold Coast Summer Racing Carnival at Aquis Park this weekend.

A key lead-up to the Star Gold Coast Magic Millions Raceday, the Aquis Raceday has become one of Australia’s fastest growing racedays on the calendar and has again attracted quality fields this year.

Powerhouse interstate trainers Ciaron Maher and David Eustace, Tony and Calvin McEvoy and Peter and Paul Snowden all have key chances heading into Saturday’s feature raceday, while the local brigade also has strong representation through the likes of Gold Coast trainers Chris Waller, Kris Lees, Lee Freedman and Toby Edmonds.

Last-start Stakes performers Encoder (Freedman), The Vowels (Edmonds) and Zoe’s Promise (Lees) are among the key chances in the feature $250,000 TAB Wave over 1800m.

Maher and Eustace have boom 2YO colt Spyware looking to quality for the Magic Millions 2YO Classic in Saturday’s $150,000 Aquis Gold Nugget for two-year-old colts and geldings, while fellow 2YO Classic contender Arabian Summer represents for Calvin and McEvoy in the $150,000 Aquis Gold Pearl for the fillies.

The Aquis Gold Nugget and Gold Pearl has been a proven lead-in to the Magic Millions 2YO Classic, with four out of the past seven winners coming through the race including Shaquero (2021), Exhilarates (2019), Sunlight (2018) and Houtzen (2017).

The $250,000 Magic Millions Rising Stars races have again attracted capacity fields as have the lucrative $250,0000 Magic Millions Maiden Plate races over 1400m and 1100m respectively.

Despite wild weather battering the Gold Coast over the past week, GCTC officials have been impressed with how the state-of-the-art drainage on the club’s new course proper has handled more than 200mm of rainfall since New Year’s Eve.

GCTC General Manager Racecourses Nevesh Ramdhani expects the surface to improve further with fine conditions forecast for the remainder of the week.