Trainer Clarry Conners has declared his filly Assail is ready for the $2m Jeep Magic Millions 2yo Classic(1200m) at the Gold Coast this weekend after a race winning gallop at Warwick Farm last Saturday.
Craig Williams will ride Assail in Saturday's 2yo Magic Millions at the Gold Coast. Photo by Taron Clarke
Race jockey Craig Williams is back from a stint in Japan to ride the Charge Forward filly at the Gold Coast and was on board when Assail trounced stablemate The Last General in a 600m gallop in between races.
“She worked nice, I’m more than happy with her – she’s ready,” Conners said.
Williams agreed with Conners assessment that Assail is ready for Saturday but went one step further saying that the filly was up to Golden Slipper class already.
“She is a high quality filly,” Williams said.
“The way she worked you would be happy if you were going towards the Slipper. The way that she felt and her attitude, she is a very good filly.
“I was rapt with the way she went. She is better than a Magic Millions horse, she is a high quality filly.
“I’d be happy in a Blue Diamond or a Golden Slipper the way that she felt. She is good.”
Conners elected to give Assail a solid hit out in the heat of the day as opposed to an early morning workout and was pleased with the way the filly covered the 600m in the slick time of 33.8 seconds.
“She could have done her work this morning but often they don’t go hard enough and don’t do enough,” Conners said after the gallop on Saturday.
“It is 19 days since she raced and I just wanted to do something with her, make sure she had a good gallop.”
Assail shares Magic Millions favouritism at $3.10 with the Rick Hore-Lacy trained Clevadude after maintaining her unbeaten race record with a dominant three length win in the $200,000 Wyong Magic Millions 2yo Classic (1100m) at Wyong on December 20.
The Wyong victory followed her first up win at Warwick Farm on November 10 in a 1000m two year old when ridden by apprentice Anthony Allen.
Williams will be the third jockey to ride Assail replacing Wyong winning rider Peter Robl.
Conners is looking for his second two year old Magic Millions win after taking out the Classic in 2006 with Mirror Mirror and is hoping for some luck at tomorrow’s barrier draw.
“The barrier draw is very important,” Conners said.
“But you see them come from everywhere in this race. Mirror Mirror came from second last on the turn to win.”
Assail will arrive at the Gold Coast midweek and Conners won’t have to do much more work with the tiny filly leading up to Saturday’s assignment.
“Assail’s only a fragile, little thing, there is not a lot of her, but she is a bomb-proof filly,” Conners said.
“She’s beautiful to train, a natural, and she won’t need to do much on the track now before the race.”
Clevadude is also unbeaten and will arrive at the Gold Coast with a maiden win at Cranbourne on December 15 followed by a four and a half length victory at Moonee Valley on December 29 to his credit.
