Final lead-up races for next Saturday’s Magic Millions 2yo Classic showcased the value of race experience, with Itchintogo and Shiki delivering authoritative victories.
The Tony Gollan-trained Itchintogo ($1.60F) dominated the colts and geldings division, winning the Aquis Gold Nugget (1100m) by 4½ lengths, while Shiki ($3.40) continued her upward trajectory by claiming the Gold Pearl (1100m) for fillies.
Those performances have seen Itchintogo firm to $11 in the Magic Millions 2yo Classic (1200m), with Shiki now the $6 second elect behind $2 favourite Warwoven.
“I wanted to have him in this after he won the other day,” Gollan said, referencing the Doomben victory on December 6.
“Bringing him here gets that freshness off him then we’ll give him an easy week and give ourselves a chance to give it a shake next week.”
“A lot of horses have won the week before then won the race (2yo Classic). The stats on the Saturday are just as good.”
Adrian Bott said Shiki has taken benefit from her Randwick run on December 20, where she finished fourth over 1000 metres.
“She did a few things wrong first-up,” Bott said.
“We know she’s explosive and has a good turn-of-foot but we just had to harness it and do it the right way which is obviously important going into the big grand final next week.
“She had a good couple of weeks and arrived really well. This week, she really started to relax and did what we wanted to see in her work.
“We had this particular set-up in mind for her which has been quite successful. We wanted her to have a look at the track here.
“She’ll potter around for the week and hopefully she’ll be nice and fresh for next week.”
Markets are open with leading online bookmakers for the Magic Millions 2yo Classic, offering punters a range of wagering options.
Itchintogo, a son of Sun City, was bought for $60,000 at the 2025 Gold Coast Yearling Sale, while Shiki was a $420,000 purchase.
The post Shiki, Itchintogo in Magic Millions Classic lead-up wins first appeared on Just Horse Racing.
