Magic Consol ridden by Craig Williams wins the VRC-CRV Winter Championship Series Final at Flemington (Pat Scala/Racing Photos)
Age hasn’t condemned the Barbara Marshman homebred Magic Consol: matter of fact, it appears to be working in his favour.
On Saturday at Flemington, rising 9YO Magic Consul finally added a stakes victory to his resume by capturing the $150,000 Listed VRC-CRV Winter Championship Final over 1600m.
It was a mighty win…Magic Consol had to jump from the widest gate, but jockey Craig Williams had the chestnut well poised by the home straight and surged to the lead over the closing stages to win with nearly two lengths to spare.
Magic Consol’s connections might have been waiting a while for that black type (Magic Consol did run second – beaten a head – in last year’s Listed Murray Bridge Cup), but patience has been the key according to trainer, Paul Preusker.
“Full credit to the owners (Peter McFarlane and Barbara Marshman),” Preusker points out.
“When the horse had niggles and problems we left him alone and he didn’t really begin racing until a late spring 3YO.”
In fact, November 2012 was the first time the punting public saw him.
Making his debut over 1100m at Hamilton in Victoria, Magic Consol ran fifth of 11, but despite that inauspicious opening volley, he has gone on to win 12 of his 57 outings, with a further 14 placings and $572,765 in stakes.
Magic Consol’s trainer in the early days was his breeder and part-owner, Barbara Marshman, who had trained out of South Australia’s Naracoorte then Hamilton in south-west Victoria for some 40 years, saddling up over 300 winners including 1976 George Ryder Stakes winner Superior Air.
As it turns out, Magic Consol was Marshman’s last winner, handing the galloper over to Preusker shortly after winning a Horsham maiden in October 2013.
“Paul has done a fantastic job with the horse – never wanted to rush him,” Marshman explains.
“Magic Consol was a real handful to begin with. Even after he was gelded you could hardly get a jockey on his back and was always a bit spooky. Incredibly quick though and he’s been worth the effort.”
Magic Consol is by the former Darley stallion, Consolidator – a son of Street Cry who won the USA Breeders’ Futurity Stakes and stood in Australia for just the two seasons. 2006 and 2008, at Darley’s Northwood Park. Although he has sired eight stakes winners in North America and Europe, Magic Consol is his sole black type winner down under.
Magic Consol, meanwhile, is out of the now retired Shalford mare Shally’s Magic – a 6-time winner for McFarlane and Marshman – who hails from the prolific family of Golden Slipper winner Full On Aces, Impending, Drawn and co.
“I always liked Consolidator and also raced a horse by him called It’Sall Aboutharry that won seven and was eventually sold to Rockhampton,” Marshman adds.
“I’ve scaled right back and only race a couple and breed from a couple these days, but Magic Consol is doing a good job of paying for all of them!”
