Magnapal Claims Upset Heatherlie Stakes Win

Magnapal produced the best performance of his racing career to date to record a strong win in the 2015 Heatherlie Stakes at Caulfield this afternoon.

Magnapal went into the Heatherlie Stakes on the back of a win over 1400 metres at Sandown on August 12 and he relished the step-up to 1700 metres to hold-off Iggimacool and a typically gallant Onipcalo.

Trainer Terry O’Sullivan could not have had Magnapal in any better condition for his second-up start in the 2015 Heatherlie Stakes, but the veteran trainer was quick to pay credit to the ride of jockey Luke Currie.

“He seems to have come back good and we have been really happy with him,” O’Sullivan said.

“Luke’s rides have been sensational on the horse and he tracked the speed there today and produced him at the right time.

“He has probably been a little bit of an underrated horse because he has run some great races and has been unlucky in quite a few of them.

“He has come back and he has had a bit of luck this time in, so we are wrapped.

“The conditions probably helped, he loves these type of conditions and we should thank god for the little bit of rain.

“We are pretty happy.”

Currie partnered Magnapal when he returned to racing with a win at Sandown on August 12 and he gave the Magnus gelding the run of the race in the Heatherlie Stakes this afternoon.

The talented hoop admitted that he was unsure whether Magnapal would be able to run out a strong 1700 metres at this stage of his preparation, but he was thrilled with the toughness the six-year-old showed in the final stages.

“We had a nice run from a good draw and when he came out the showed a good turn-of-foot at the top of the straight,” Currie said.

“He was always going to hold them off.

“He was very confident with him last time, which surprised me first-up and I was a little bit concerned that the 1700 might just find him out second-up, but it didn’t and he was very strong to the line.”

Magnapal has been included in the nominations for the Group 1 Caulfield Cup (2400m) and O’Sullivan revealed that he will give the promising stayer the opportunity to guarantee a place in the Group 1 event by setting him for the Group 3 Naturalism Stakes (2000m), which offers the winner a ballot-exempt entry into the Heatherlie Stakes.

About The Author

Thomas Hackett

Thomas is a passionate and opinionated racing journalist and punter who has been obsessed with horse racing since he backed Saintly to win the 1996 Melbourne Cup. An international racing enthusiast, he has his finger on the pulse of racing news not just from Australia but all around the world.