Jonker stamped himself as a genuine Magic Millions contender with a dominant victory in the Wyong Magic Millions Classic this afternoon.
Jonker is the latest son of Spirit Of Boom (pictured) to stamp himself as a Magic Millions Classic contender.
Magic Millions Clockwise Classic La Pomme De Pin took up the running in the early stages of the Wyong Magic Millions Classic and she ensured that the race was run at a very genuine tempo.
Jonker cruised into a lovely position just behind the leader and he was the only horse that looked comfortable in the run as the likes of Bondi and Terminology struggled to deal with the early speed.
Aaron Bullock asked Jonker for an extra effort at the top of the straight and he quickly put a couple of lengths on his rivals before he ran away in the final stages to claim a most impressive win.
Trainer David Atkins has always had a big opinion of Jonker and he confirmed that the son of Spirit Of Boom will head to the $2 million Magic Millions Classic at the Gold Coast in three weeks’ time.
“I have always liked him and his second jump out was very sharp,” Atkins said.
“He has just gotten better and better.
“The leader was just free-running and the other horse was travelling three wide, so we were always going to be hard to beat from there.
“That will be enough for him and the three weeks between runs will be perfect for him.
“The 1200 metres will not be a problem.”
Bullock gave Jonker an absolute peach of a ride, but he admitted after the race that the two-year-old had slipped when he jumped from the barriers before everything else went to plan.
The rising hoop said that he is unsure whether he will keep the ride on Jonker in the Wyong Magic Millions Classic, but he is confident that the colt will go into the feature race as a genuine contender.
“He slipped out of the barriers,” Atkins said.
“I knew the leader had plenty of speed – that is how he won last start – and I knew that they wouldn’t ride him any different.
“I was happy to take the sit because I had watched all the races up until now and everything has been winning from the centre of the track.
“I was surprised by the margin, but I knew from the time that I first rode him that he was special and he is still improving.”
There was plenty of money for Terminology in the lead-up to the Wyong Magic Millions Classic, but she was always under pressure and never looked comfortable.