Baker out to pocket more Millions after Paradoxium’s Wyong win
Bjorn Baker has another strong Magic Millions 2YO Classic (RL, 1100m) contender on his hands in the shape of Paradoxium (Extreme Choice) after the colt produced a dominant performance in Wednesday’s Wyong Magic Millions 2YO Classic (RL, 1100m).
Baker won last year’s edition with O’Ole (Ole Kirk), who later claimed the Gold Coast feature, and Paradoxium now appears poised to follow a similar path.
Jumping well from barrier four under Jason Collett, Paradoxium immediately took control. Peter Snowden’s Seeiaye (Russian Revolution) settled outside him and maintained pressure throughout, but the Ridgmont-owned colt produced a powerful burst of acceleration turning for home. He looked the winner at the top of the straight before extending away to score by 2.84 lengths.
An eyecatcher in the race was the Michael Freedman-trained Mystical (Exceed And Excel), who trailed the field by two lengths early but finished strongly for second. Fellow Ridgmont/Baker filly Masvingo (Zoustar) filled the minors, finishing 3.26 lengths behind the winner.
Having made his debut with a fourth-placed finish in the Breeders’ Plate (Gr 3, 1000m) in October, connections were impressed by the improvement Paradoxium had made since his first racing preparation.
“It was extraordinary and he’s improved a few lengths from his first prep,” Ridgmont director and owner Mitch Cunningham told ANZ News.
“For him to finish off the way he did, having been eyeballed in running, I think is pretty special. [Jason] Collett mentioned after the race that he felt that he had quite a bit up his sleeve with him, so to finish off so brilliantly is exciting and gives us confidence going into the big one in January.
Cunningham confirmed Paradoxium will now head to the BJ McLachlan Stakes (Gr 3, 1200m) at Eagle Farm on December 20 as a lead up to the $1 million Gold Coast feature.
“I think we’ll just let him come through this and make sure he pulls up well. Bjorn has plotted a path to Magic Millions victories last year with O’Ole, I think he would prefer to have him going in rock-hard fit,” he said.
Bred by Grant Bloodstock, Ken and Maree Lowe and Brian McGrath, the colt was a $400,000 buy for Baker, Clarke Bloodstock and Ridgmont from Silverdale at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale.
“We like to buy off good farms and Silverdale Farm is an exceptional nursery. Steve Grant and Rob Petith do a really good job, and we like to buy off them. Paradoxium and Masvingo were both bought off Silverdale funnily enough,” Cunningham said.
“This colt was just a strapping, close coupled, strong Extreme Choice who had, and still has, a really good brain for it. We pulled him out quite a few times and he just marched out of his box, did his job and he just clearly had a will to be there and a will to work, so that was a big one for us.
“He was a well muscled, attractive colt by probably one of our best stallions, if not the best in the world. So at $400,000, we jumped at the opportunity and we thought we probably would have to pay a hell of a lot more than that,” Cunningham said.
Paradoxium is the first foal out of the stakes-placed Paredo (Better Than Ready) and comes from a pedigree rich in black type. Paredo is a half-sister to stakes-placed Snipzu (Snippetson), the dam of Group 1-placed Don Corleone (Extreme Choice), and Happy Pilgrim (Congrats), the dam of Group 1 winner Private Harry (Private Harry).
Paredo was purchased by Silverdale Farm for $475,000 at the 2023 Inglis Chairman’s Sale and has since produced a yearling filly by Zoustar (Northern Meteor) and another by I Am Invincible (Invincible Spirit) this season.
Paradoxium became the 17th individual stakes winner for Newgate Farm’s Extreme Choice (Not A Single Doubt).
Ridgmont also owned the third placegetter Masvingo, who pleased connections with her run and is expected to follow a similar path to the winner.
Also bought out of the Silverdale draft, the Ridgmont Fillies Partnership and Clark Bloodstock went to $580,000 to secure the filly at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Sale earlier this year.
“It was just such a fast run race and she was at her top from the jump and you can see she was sort of under riding all the way through. So for her to finish off the way she did and still manage to gain some black type is huge for her moving forward,” Cunningham said.
“She could have hit the rail a few times, so it takes a lot of maturity as a two-year-old to finish off despite a bit of a torrid run, so at this stage we’ll just take her home and see how she pulls through, but there’s every opportunity for her to press on to the two-year-old race herself and my feel would be should take a hell of a lot of improvement from it.”
The Three Hundred gets the nod in tight finish
The Three Hundred (I Am Invincible) thrust himself firmly into the Magic Millions Gold Coast picture with a tough victory in Wednesday’s Magic Millions Wyong 3YO & 4YO Stakes (1200m).
The Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott-trained gelding, given a determined ride by Tim Clark, edged out King Of Roseau (Capitalist) and Spywire (Trapeze Artist) in a tight finish, by margins of 0.19 and 0.23 lengths.
The trio came together late, prompting protests from the jockeys of both placegetters, but stewards dismissed the objections. Last year’s Magic Millions 2YO Classic runner-up O’Ole endured a luckless run and finished fourth, 3.58 lengths adrift.
Already a Group 3 winner of the Winx Stakes (Gr 3, 1600m), The Three Hundred was a $400,000 purchase for Waterhouse, Bott and Trilogy Racing from Yarraman Park, with his breeders, the Allam Racing Syndicate, retaining an ownership share. He is out of Listed winner Sassy ‘N’ Smart (Smart Missile), a half-sister to Group 3 winner Mallory (Not A Single Doubt).
Trilogy Racing doubled down on the family this year, joining Bjorn Baker and Suman Hedge to secure The Three Hundred’s Extreme Choice half-sister for $200,000 at January’s Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale. Sassy ‘N’ Smart produced a colt last season by I Am Invincible’s Coolmore-based son Home Affairs.