Magic Millions 3YO Guineas Preview and Tips 17/01/25

*Note: Due to poor weather on race day, the meeting at Gold Coast Racecourse was abandoned after three races. The 2025 Magic Millions 3YO Guineas will now take place on Friday January 17. I will update my tips (if required) closer to the updated race day.*

All action turns to the Gold Coast at the Magic Millions Carnival kicks into gear. Two races in particular will draw a massive audience. Both the Magic Millions 3YO Guineas and the Magic Millions 2YO Classic are worth a whopping $3 million each. The prize money obviously brings out some of the best 2YOs and 3YOs in the country.

While these two events might not be Group One races, the thrill of a $3 million race is enough to gain a mammoth amount of interest. Expect to see a quality crop of 3YOs step out for the Magic Millions 3YO Guineas on Friday, with Tuileries and Bauhinia the current equal favourites with PlayUp.

I will provide my Friday tips for both races, but in this article, I’ll be focusing on the Magic Millions 3YO Guineas in particular. Make sure you check OnlyRacing for my other set of tips for the Magic Millions 2YO Classic. For this race, I’ve gone through every runner and found my best bets, which include five runners that I think are set to make a splash.

There are three runners that possess fast barrier speed in this one and they are all trained by Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott. The likes of Catoggio, Dawn Service, and Shangri La Express will all look to lead this one, with a fast race tempo expected (well, as fast as it can be on a Soft/ Heavy track!).

Tuileries currently holds the position as the equal pre-race favourite and I see her settling off the page, in the middle of the pack. She’ll need a bit of luck from the widest barrier of them all, but favourite backers out there will hope she stays out of trouble leaving her with one final crack at them down the home straight.

The market has Tuileries on (the equal) top and I tend to agree. PlayUp is currently offering $6.50 for Tuileries to take the win in the Magic Millions 3YO Guineas on Friday. The filly has been crunched with bettors getting $8.50 for her when PlayUp’s market opened (for the original race on Saturday 11). I would get in quick, while there’s still a bit of value.

I think she’s an interesting runner. She might not have the high-level experience that some others have after winning a BM72 last time out, but it was the way she won that should make you take note. Also, she’s bred for the conditions that we’ll likely get on Friday, being by So You Think.

My vote for the safe bet in the Magic Millions 3YO Guineas goes to Snitzanova. Snitzanova opened favourite (for the original race on Saturday 11) but has since dropped to the second line of betting with Bet365, where you can get $7.00 for the filly to win the race. I think that is still decent value as she comes into this with a bit of form.

She is on a hot streak, winning her last three races and what has excited me the most is that those wins have come on all different types of conditions, including on a Heavy track, which is what we might get on Friday. Daniel Stackhouse keeps the ride and he’ll have an array of options available to him from barrier nine.

*This runner has since been scratched.*

Dance To The Boom looks to present a nice amount of value in my eyes and the filly is currently going around with odds of $15 to win the race, thanks to Dabble. The 3YO has chalked up three wins so far in her career and all of them have been pretty impressive, with improvements made in each win.

Last time out we saw Dance To The Boom win the Listed Gosford Guineas. For this one, she draws barrier 18, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing as I believe she is a versatile horse that can run a good race from anywhere. She’ll need to jump well and Damian Lane needs to be on his a-game, but a top-three finish is certainly on the cards.

I like the look of Bauhinia and really think she can fire and run top three, especially if some of the others don’t bring their a-game. Bauhinia is currently on the second line of betting with QuestBet, going around with odds of $7.50. Gave her rivals a little bit of a head start last time out in the Wyong Stakes, but she was still too good for them, winning by 0.3L.

She’s drawn wide in this one, which is still okay I think. She’ll probably settle off the speed and by the time the Magic Millions 3YO Guineas rolls around, we will have a good idea of how the backmarkers are faring. I would say hold off until race day to see the race pattern of the winners before placing your bets on Bauhinia.

Having myself a little throw at the stumps with this one. I’m not sure if Dawn Service can run top three, but the colt is overs in my opinion and certainly one to include in the wider exotics at the very least. Dawn Service is currently going around with odds of $23, thanks to Bet Right.

The barrier draw works in his favour and if he can take the lead without using any additional energy, he might gap them and give them all something to run down in the closing stages of the race. He’ll need to be good enough to take advantage of his barrier draw and I think he is. Worth a try at massive odds.

All my Magic Millions 3YO Guineas horse racing tips and their odds can be found here:

Bookmaker	Tip	Odds
	Tuileries (win)	$6.50
	Snitzanova (each-way)	$7.00/$3.00
	Dance To The Boom (place)	$4.60
	Bauhinia (place)	$2.65
	Dawn Service (place)	$6.25