Prominent owner Rob Tomlinson has enjoyed considerable success over the past 20 years with many star performers, including Precious Dylan, Pacific Warrior and Shardons Aflyin, and now he has no hesitation in declaring the inexperienced but highly talented Magnificent Storm is the best pacer he has owned.
Tomlinson, as chief of Oz-West Pacing, is the major shareholder of Magnificent Storm, and he and co-owners Peter Morris, Damian Keating, Phillip Eaton, Clint Hunter, Campbell Hunter, Barbara Nicholls, Peter Richards and Lee Bunney are looking forward with great expectation to the New Zealand-bred gelding extending his winning sequence to twelve when he contests the $125,000 Simmonds Steel Four-Year-Old Classic at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
They are taking nothing for granted, but have good reason to feel confident after Magnificent Storm’s superb victories at his first 11 starts in Western Australia for astute Mt Helena trainer Ray Williams and star reinsman Aldo Cortopassi.
This sequence of wins followed Magnificent Storm’s only start in New Zealand, when he raced at the rear before finishing solidly into ninth place, five lengths from the winner, Alpine Delight, in a 1609m event at Alexandra Park on October 25, 2019.
After that, it was touch and go whether Magnificent Storm would ever be seen in Western Australia, with Tomlinson disclosing that he had turned down the opportunity to buy the gelding.
“He looked like a quite nice animal, but we actually knocked him back first-up,” he said. “They had a very high opinion of him and they wanted so much money for him that we said we considered the price was a bit too high.
“We then said we would give you this much, and they thought about it for a couple of weeks before coming back to us and accepting our offer. It was a reasonable amount and the horse cost about $80,000 landed in WA.
“Magnificent Storm was part-owned by his trainer-driver Todd Macfarlane and among pacers he had previously sold to us were Millview Sienna and Pacific Warrior.”
Millview Sienna won the Group 1 Westral Classic in December 2018 and earned $157,330 from her 12 wins and four placings. Pacific Warrior amassed $343,419 in stakes from 28 wins and 21 placings from 89 starts. His victories included the Higgins Memorial in July 2013, the 2014 and 2015 Governor’s Cup and the RWWA Cup in February 2015.
“I’ve had some lovely horses who have won Group 1 events, but Magnificent Storm is the best horse I’ve had,” Tomlinson said.
“He’s got the X factor; he’s got speed and stamina and is very laid back. Nothing worries him. He is a casual customer, not very big, but he has a very wide chest and has a big motor there.”
Tomlinson’s learned opinion is high praise indeed, with him ranking Magnificent Storm, the winner of 11 of his 12 starts for stakes of $84,934, ahead of Shardons Aflyin (61 starts for 21 wins, 16 placings and $500,651), Precious Dylan (67 starts for 27 wins, 14 placings and $349,588) and Pacific Warrior.
Shardons Aflyin won at 11 of his first 12 starts for Tomlinson and his victories included the Marathon Handicap and Pinjarra Cup in 2006 and the Fremantle Cup and the Australian Pacing Championship in March 2007; Precious Dylan won at 17 of his first 20 starts in Western Australia and his victories included the Group 3 Four And Five-Year-Old Championship in February 2006 and the 2010 Pinjarra Cup; and Pacific Warrior won at his first six WA starts and at 12 of his first 18 appearances in the State.
Those three pacers were trained and driven by Grant Williams, whose father Ray prepares Magnificent Storm, who continued his remarkable rise to fame when he worked hard in the breeze before winning the $50,000 Group 2 Four-Year-Old Championship at Gloucester Park last Friday week. He was not fully extended in beating Power And Grace and the pacemaker Al Guerrero.
The quality field of 12 runners in this week’s Group 1 classic have won a combined total of 98 races and Magnificent Storm is facing the biggest test in his fabulous career. He will start from the No. 2 barrier on the back line and Cortopassi will determine his tactics as the race unfolds.
Looming large as the Magnificent Storm’s main rivals are the three richly-talented New Zealand-bred geldings from the all-conquering stables of champion trainers Greg and Skye Bond Minstrel (barrier four), Howard Hughes (five) and Patronus Star (six).
Between them, the three pacers have won 30 races from 51 starts and all are destined for big things in harness racing.
Ryan Warwick will drive Patronus Star, Colin Brown has been engaged for Minstrel and Deni Roberts will be in the sulky behind Howard Hughes.
Patronus Star is sure to prove hard to beat. He completed his preparation for this week’s race with an effortless all-the-way victory over Bracken Sky and Stroke Of Luck in the 2536m Ray Duffy Memorial last Friday night when he sped over the final 400m sections in 27.9sec. and 26.8sec.
Minstrel overcame the disadvantage of the outside barrier (No. 9) before scoring an easy win over 2130m last Friday night, with final quarters of 28.6sec. and 26.9sec. He is undoubtably a young pacer on the rise.
He began speedily and worked hard in the breeze before surging to the front on the home turn and beating his stablemate and pacemaker See Ya Write by a length at a 1.56.1 rate.
Howard Hughes raced wide early and then in the breeze before breaking into a gallop about 230m from home and dropping back to be distanced behind Patronus Star last Friday night. Two starts before that he raced three back on the pegs and finished fast along the sprint lane to win from Patronus Star over 2185m at Pinjarra.
Henley Brook trainer Mike Reed has Power And Grace racing in fine form, and Michael Grantham should have the stallion in a commanding position all the way after starting from the No. 3 barrier. Power And Grace sat behind the pacemaker Al Guerrero before finishing solidly when second to Magnificent Storm two Fridays ago.
Gary Hall Snr has Copy N Pace racing keenly and the American Ideal gelding is capable of a bold showing. He will start from the inside of the back line for driver Stuart McDonald and should be doing his best work in the closing stages of the race.
