Abounding skips All-Star Mile for Stradbroke
Rob Heathcote will skip the All-Star Mile with his prized Magic Millions Guineas winner Abounding, saying a trip to Victoria is not possible with Queensland's own winter carnival on the doorstep instead.
For the first time this year, the winner of the Magic Millions 3YO Guineas (1400m) was given a golden ticket into the All-Star Mile, however, Heathcote said he would prefer to aim up at the Group 1 Stradbroke Handicap instead.
The $75,000 bargain has more than $2m next to her name and Heathcote believes his filly will be hard to catch in the winter.
"I feel while it is a nice thing to have, there is a Stradbroke there in the winter," Heathcote said.
"The All-Star Mile is in March, what do I do with her between now and March?
"Then you go to Melbourne and she is cooked for the winter, I wouldn't do it to her.
"I have a winter carnival on our doorstep with all these three-year-old features at set weights where she is so well in.
"I don't know the qualifications to get into the Stradbroke, she has plenty of money but I assume she will need to win an exemption race or something."
In what was the richest win of Heathcote's career, which has included international Group 1's with Buffering, Heathcote can't help but get excited about Abounding's future.
Incredibly, he pointed to the filly's debut race in November 22, where she was defeated as a long odds-on favourite.
"I have been saying all along, that Abounding is something special," he said.
"I think the funniest story is when she first went to the races, she was a $1.50 favorite and one of (Tony) Gollan's beat me, it turned out to be Skirt The Law.
"The race produced the 2023 2YO Magic Millions winner ad lo and behold I come out and win the 3yo Guineas with the horse this year.
"It was a maiden at Doomben, I went there thinking I was a certainty and I got blown away by Skirt The Law.
"It's good to see us competing against the southern horses."