Torque To Be Sure survives protest in Magic Millions 3YO Guineas
Torque To Be Sure (Shamus Award) broke his maiden with a welcome feature race win for his Rosemont Stud sire in a dramatic victory in Saturday’s Magic Millions 3YO Guineas (RL, 1400m), surviving a protest to beat hot favourite Ninja (Farnan).
The race became an intriguing study between the Matt Dunn trained $13 shot Torque To Be Sure – who entered the contest winless after ten starts – and $1.60 hotpot Ninja, Michael Freedman’s burgeoning star who’d won three of five.
With Torque To Be Sure and Ben Melham starting from gate 15 of 17, and Ninja from the widest gate, the latter followed the former in a three-wide line just worse than midfield.
Torque To Be Sure took the lead at the 200 metres as Ninja came after him to his outside. Melham’s mount lurched outwards under pressure and impeded his rival’s progress, before shooting away to score by 0.76 lengths.
Ninja’s rider Tommy Berry fired in a protest and alleged the interference had cost him more than the winning margin. But chief steward Josh Adams said his panel found that while the level of interference was “significant”, they could not be satisfied it would have made the difference between winning and losing considering the margin.
The protest drama cut the post-race comments from the winning trainer and jockey to a minimum. But Melham was able to report Torque To Be Sure had considerable ability, despite his maiden status before Saturday which came alongside five placings, four of them in city class.
“He’s not an easy horse to ride,” Melham said of the gelding, who was a 0.31-length second last Saturday in the Sunlight Consolation (1100m).
“He went off the track a little but he was pretty good today. I ended up in a sweet spot and the back-up really helped me over 1400 metres.
“He was pretty dominant. Not a bad effort for a maidener. The ability was never the issue, but it is good to see him break through in this race today.”
Thanking Torque To Be Sure’s owners for their patience, Dunn said starting him over 1100 metres eight days earlier had helped him settle for Saturday’s 1400-metre assignment.
“He’s been a frustration,” the Murwillumbah trainer said. “I’m lucky I’ve got a very patient owner’s group in him. But when you look at what he did today, he’s certainly always had the talent.
“The sky’s the limit for him. Who knows what he can do.
“It was always the plan to go to the 1100 metres last week. Ben rode him perfectly today.”
Bought by Dunn and Neil Jenkinson for $260,000 from Attunga Stud’s draft at the Gold Coast in 2024, Torque To Be Sure mixed some handy unplaced runs with his placings en route to Saturday’s breakthrough.
At Brisbane’s winter carnival last year, he was fifth in the Sires’ Produce Stakes (Gr 2, 1400m) before running a fair eighth in the JJ Atkins (Gr 1, 1600m).
Dunn said his confidence pre-race was “pretty high” because he’d felt Torque To Be Sure should have finished closer than two lengths behind Ninja two starts back, when the pair ran third and sixth respectively in the the Magic Millions Pierata Plate (1200m) at Doomben behind another imposing three-year-old in Grafterburners (Graff).
Coincidentally, Dunn said his horse had been hampered that day by interference from Ninja.
Asked what it was like to win a $3m race, Dunn said it was “something else – especially when you’ve got a maiden going into it”.
Reflecting on a long week after he’d bought five horses at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale, Dunn said he was preparing to celebrate in unusual fashion.
“I’m ready to go to sleep,” he said with a laugh. “It’s a long week for trainers. I’m feeling the pinch.”
Torque To Be Sure is the ninth foal of Elimbari (Fastnet Rock), who won one of her 13 starts, at Rosehill, and was Group 3-placed for trainer and co-breeder Kris Lees, who’s also a co-breeder for Torque To Be Sure.
Elibari also produced Vincere Volare (I Am Invincible) and Conscious (So You Think), who are Group 2 and Listed-placed respectively.
The family, descendant from Listed-winning second dam Shalt Not (St Covet), also includes stakes winners Amelia’s Dream (Redoute’s Choice) and About Time (American Pharoah), and the Group 1-placed Young Werther (Tavistock).
Torque To Be Sure is the third stakes winner this season for Shamus Award (Snitzel), who covered 94 mares last spring at Rosemont for $33,000 (inc GST), down from $38,500 (inc GST).
The 15-year-old, who coincidentally broke his maiden in the Cox Plate (Gr 1, 2040m), now has 31 stakes winners, including six at the elite-level, from 527 runners overall at 5.7 per cent, and 330 winners.
Torque To Be Sure is the latest foal for Elimbari entered in the stud book.
Crash The Party finished fourth in the Guineas and, in addition to $135,000 prize-money, picked up $162,500 as the first of the horses eligible for the Magic Millions Racing Women Bonus past the post.