Caulfield trainer Robert Smerdon is banking on Real Time stepping up to Spring Carnival standard after the four year old won the $82,000 Sky Racing World Magic Millions Class 6 Plate (1200m) at the Gold Coast last Saturday.
Real Time, blue and white, will be set for a Melbourne Spring Carnival campaign after winning the Class 6 Plate at the Gold Coast on Magic Millions Race Day. Photo by Daniel Costello.
Real Time recorded his fourth win from seven starts when he finished hard for Christen Reith from near the tail of the field to down local chance Architect.
Smerdon has a high opinion of the Testa Rossa gelding and will now give him a good spell before preparing him for a Melbourne Spring Carnival campaign.
“He’ll go to the paddock now, he’s had seven pretty tough runs this preparation, so he’ll have a good break and won’t race (again) in Melbourne until Spring,” Smerdon told racing.com.
“He’s a talented horse that will come up through the grades.”
“He’s got a pretty good record now.”
“He’s compiling a pretty good record now, four wins from seven starts, which arguably should have been five.”
Real Time is raced by Magic Millions boss Gerry Harvey and after the gelding won over 1400m at Sandown on November 19, Smerdon picked out the race at the Gold Coast on Magic Millions race day last Saturday.
“He’s owned by Gerry Harvey and that’s his sale and it’s his race day, so-to-speak, so when he won at Sandown two starts ago we thought we’d take him up,” Smerdon said.
Smerdon had originally picked out the $328,000 Magic Millions Cup (1400m) but the decision to run in the easier Class 6 Plate proved the correct one.
“The original plan was to take him to the Gold Coast for the Magic Millions Cup but he would have been very badly weighted against open company horses,” Smerdon said.
“He would have at least run a place and he would have gone up sharply in the ratings. Then he would have been weighted out of some races.
“It was better to run in the Plate where he got in very well at the weights and his rating won’t soar for the win.”
Real Time was sent out the $4.40 favourite and kept the punters happy in the end with a comfortable win after giving the leaders a big start coming into the straight.
