Making Magic In The Mackinnon

Saturday’s G1 Mackinnon S. at Flemington offers its contenders a last-minute chance to guarantee a run in the G1 Melbourne Cup three days later over the same course, with the winner granted automatic entry into the world’s richest handicap. The last horse to complete that staggering double was Rogan Josh in 1999. This year’s lineup includes a number of the country’s classiest middle-distance horses and the morning line favorite is Godolphin’s Magic Hurricane (Ire) (Hurricane Run {Ire}), who won the G1 The Metropolitan over 400 meters further when last seen Oct. 3. Opie Bosson takes the ride with stable jockey James McDonald on Contributer (Ire) (High Chaparral {Ire}), who seeks his first win since the G1 Ranvet S. in March.

Also going to post are a pair of reliable geldings bred by Mill Park Stud in Fawkner (Aus) (Reset {Aus}) and Happy Trails (Aus) (Good Journey), the latter of which won this last year. The former recorded his third Group 1 score over this track in the one-mile G1 Makybe Diva S. Sept. 12 and just missed when second in the G1 Underwood S. two weeks later. He checked in a soundly beaten sixth in both the G1 Caulfield S. and G1 Cox Plate, and will have to navigate from a wide barrier here in 15. Happy Trails fared betting at the draw, landing in gate six. The 8-year-old showed signs of youth when finishing second in the Caulfield S. Oct. 10 and settled for 10th in the Cox Plate before taking this contest. Stratum Star (Aus) (Stratum {Aus}) is another who has shown consistency over the last year, having finished off the board just once in 16 outings. The 4-year-old entire won the G1 Sir Rupert Clarke S. over 1400 meters at Caulfield Sept. 26 and took the G3 David Jones Cup when stepped up to this trip in his most recent outing Oct. 17. Magic Artist (Ire) (Iffraaj {GB}) makes his first start Down Under for last year’s Melbourne Cup-winning trainer Andrea Wohler, and the 4-year-old finished fifth, while not disgraced either time, in Belmont’s GI Manhattan H. June 6 and Munich’s G1 Grosser Dallmayr-Preis Bayerisches July 26.