Enigmatic is a word often bandied about in racing but it certainly sits well upon the ample shoulders of Cannonball, a big odds winner of the Listed Magic Millions Falvelon at Eagle Farm on Saturday.
Five starts ago the hulking son of Capitalist took his place in the Group I Kings Stand Stakes at Royal Ascot, finishing a disappointing 17th of 17 after leading.
Not to be perturbed, four days later, he lined up in the Group I Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes where he reared at the start, dumped his rider and followed the field down the Royal Ascot straight alone, and not overly concerned about it on the video evidence.
Prior to that he’d been a two-time stakes winner, firstly in the Redoute’s Choice Stakes (Listed) as a two-year-old when trained by Anthony Freedman, then the Group III Maurice McCarten Stakes at his first run for the Peter and Paul Snowden stable.
The run following the Maurice McCarten saw him a luckless third in the Group I Galaxy, an effort considered good enough for the Royal Ascot attempt. A worthy throw at the stumps for a $975,000 intact yearling with an Australian sprinting pedigree.
Fast forward a year or more, he found himself a gelding of undoubted talent, in search of nothing but firm going, so was dispatched to leading Queensland mentor Tony Gollan for a tilt at the rich Magic Millions carnival.
Always a horse to carry the type of burly condition not often seen in the birdcage, he needed the first run in Qld when seventh first-up, but Gollan produced him tighter second-up, and noticeably without a bead of sweat.
He was also $41 in the market. The second roughest of Gollan’s six runners in the race, which included the even money favourite Hidden Wealth.
It mattered little with Martin Harley having him midfield and looking comfortable into the straight where he found enough to kick and hold on to beat Oughton (More Than Ready) by a head with King Kapa (Capitalist) third.
"They gelded him to see if we could get him to the Magic Millions Sprint,” said Gollan.
“I think I’ve got him right where I want him.
“It’s just a matter of getting him in the same shape and getting the same sort of track. He really wants good ground.”
Irish-born rider Martin Harley then gave an insight into a little of the Cannonball “enigma”.
“He built through the gears beautiful, but I made one mistake, I shouldn’t have hit him. When I hit him with the whip he actually stopped. When I let the whip down he ran on.
“As they say, we all get older and we get wiser and he certainly is.”
Cannonball was a $975,000 purchase for James Harron Bloodstock from the Newgate Farm draft at the MM Gold Coast Yearling Sale.
He’s out of Listed 2YO winner Golconda (Snitzel) and is a full brother to Group II winner Marine One who stands at Western Australia’s Mogumber Park.
He has so far had 14 starts for four wins with $573,000, and while he didn't cut it as a stallion option for the Harron operation they’ve thought enough of him to keep him around, and with a modicum of improvement and a good gate on Magic Millions day, he looks a real shot at the $1million Magic Millions Sprint. Just park the whip!
