Trainers Richard and Will Freedman came close to cutting ties with Rolling Magic after a slow start to his racing journey, but their perseverance paid off when the gelding returned with a surprise win at Rosehill.
Now approaching five years of age, Rolling Magic failed to impress during his early campaigns but began showing promise last spring. He notched up three consecutive provincial wins and secured a placing in the lucrative Four Pillars worth $500,000.
“After his first prep, he was only a stone’s throw away from the Inglis Digital Sale,” Will Freedman said.
“We tipped him out for five months and he has come back a fifty times better horse than what he was.
“As soon as you threaten the box door, they put in a good one.”
A foot abscess disrupted his next campaign, and a pair of underwhelming barrier trials had Freedman doubtful about Rolling Magic’s readiness for Saturday’s Midway Handicap (1300m) at Rosehill.
He even conveyed his concerns to the owners, but the $7 chance proved him wrong by digging deep to overhaul Khumbila ($8.50) and win by a half-neck.
“I probably got it wrong because I told, not only the press, but the owners it was quite unlikely he’d win,” Freedman said.
“He is getting closer to where he was when he had a good run of form. He has always looked really well, he just hasn’t been able to finish off his trials that well and some horses just don’t trial that well.
“There is certainly a lot of improvement left in him.
“If he didn’t win today, we were going to have another crack at the Four Pillars but that probably gets thrown out the window with the ratings points.”
Freedman hopes to see Rolling Magic continue his upward trajectory through the grades, and winning jockey Josh Parr echoed that optimism.
“His coat is quite woolly and he was really fresh pre-race in the mounting yard and even in the barrier,” Parr said.
“I think there is good improvement to come but thankfully he has got the job done today.”
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