Magic Millions Classic betting favourite handed poor barrier draw

The Magic Millions Classic betting odds were turned upside down on Tuesday after the barrier draw for the $3,000,000 race.

Ciaron Maher’s Icarian Dream was the clear betting sites favourite. After getting a wide draw, the filly now is one of the outsiders for Saturday’s race at Gold Coast Racecourse.

On the other hand, Lloyd Kennewell & Lucy Yeomans’s Invincible Woman and the Hawkes Racing-trained Gallo Nero benefited massively from the barrier draw.

Favourites’ odds take a hit

The betting apps gave Icarian Dream $4.50 odds of winning this Saturday’s Magic Millions Classic. The filly was the clear favourite. Now, she’s not even in the top three. The reason for this is her poor barrier draw.

Icarian Dream was drawn into barrier 21. She will race out of barrier 16 if all emergency runners are excluded from the race.

Most sites now give Icarian Dream just $8 chances. She is joint-fourth favourite with Peter Snowden’s Memo.

Ciaron Maher admitted after the draw that the betting odds are probably right and that Icarian Dream’s chances indeed have gotten a lot harder.

“The job will be a little bit more difficult from out there in 21,” Maher said.

“But, as my mother would say, ‘Where there’s a will, there’s a way.’ She was very dominant on the weekend, and I’m sure she’ll run a pretty forward race (on Saturday),” he added.

New Magic Millions Classic betting favourites

With Icarian Dream’s betting odds slashed, Invincible Woman and Gallo Nero are the new best bets for Saturday’s race.

Invincible Woman’s odds dropped from $9 down to just $5 immediately after the draw. The odds have jumped a bit since then, with most horse racing betting outlets offering bets at $5.50 now.

Gallo Nero benefited even more than Invincible Woman. The Hawkes Racing-trained galloper had just $15 chances before Tuesday’s draw. He now has $6 from most bookmakers.

Gold Coast may not be ready

The Magic Millions Classic betting odds are not the only things that have been changing rapidly this week.

After it was discovered that Gold Coast Racecourse needed its turf replaced around the 500m mark, officials have been scrambling all week to come up with a backup plan in case the track is not ready for this Saturday’s $14 million Magic Millions Carnival.

Organisers would prefer that the Gold Coast Turf Club host the Magic Millions Classic and this Saturday’s other races, but they could be moved.

Eagle Farm is the most likely new venue, should Gold Coast not be ready. Officials are already working to get it ready, just in case.