Magice Sets Up Stud Double

The form around Magice had been franked since the valuable colt’s encouraging debut performance and he duly delivered in style at Matamata on Wednesday afternoon.

The Glenn Old-trained two-year-old never gave his rivals a look in with the son of Savabeel working to the front in the hands of Jasmine Fawcett and kicked strongly for a convincing victory over 1200 metres.

“He raced a bit fiercely early and looks like he still has a fair bit to learn, but the further the race went, he flattened out nicely,” Old said.

He is bred and raced by Waikato Stud, as is Sweetpea who broke her maiden under apprentice Triston Moodley later on the program over 1400 metres off the back of a previous second.

Magice had finished runner-up at Rotorua last month behind Super Seth’s son Super Photon, who on Saturday claimed the Listed Waikato Equine Veterinary Centre Stakes.

Third placegetter Ziggy Stardust was also in action last weekend and tripped south to run second in the Listed Champagne Stakes at Riccarton.

“I got him mainly to do the fundamentals with him and a bit of pre-training, but Garry (Chittick) decided to keep him in New Zealand instead of sending him to Melbourne just yet, which was on the cards,” Old said.

Magice is a brother to the G1 New Zealand 2000 Guineas winner Noverre, who stands at Waikato Stud, with their dam the Rip Van Winkle mare Magic Dancer.

She was a talented performer who won the G3 Taranaki 2YO Classic and she produced a sister last year to Magice and is again in foal to Savabeel.

Sweetpea is prepared by Stephen Marsh and is from one of the nursery’s most prolific families that features the dual Group 1-winning half-siblings Glamour Puss and Vision And Power.

The filly is a daughter of the Pins mare Pretty, who has produced eight winners including stakes winners Bonny O’Reilly and Pretty To Sea and the dam of the G1 Coolmore Classic winner Espiona.

Pretty’s unraced juvenile by Ocean Park, named Koojan, was a $360,000 Karaka purchase for Chris Waller and Guy Mulcaster and the dam also had a colt by Ocean Park last season. She is now in foal to Noverre.