Gai Waterhouse sees Saturday's two-year-olds' race at Randwick as ''a mini Golden Slipper'' as she brings some blue-bloods out to play.
It is perhaps better described as a Magic Millions advertisement; Waterhouse has Fastnet Rock colt Valentia, which topped the Gold Coast sale at $1.35 million last year, and the $675,000 top-priced filly from the auction, Twirl, on debut.
''They are both nice two-year-olds that are ready to go to the races after trialling well,'' Waterhouse said. ''We didn't rush them and it just shows the type and quality of horse you get at Magic Millions, and you don't necessarily have to go to the race up there.
''Inglis at Easter might be our top sale, but for these two-year-olds it is hard to go past Magic Millions.''
The statistics for this season's juvenile races bear out the success of Magic Millions-sold babies after 40 metropolitan wins and 58 in total, including nine at black-type level. ''Hopefully we can add to it,'' Waterhouse said. ''Valentia is a very nice colt that topped the sale and you can see why.
''He has won a trial. The filly Twirl has also won her first trial and has come along very well.''
Waterhouse's two runners on Saturday cost $2,025,000, more than the combined purchase price of the entire Magic Millions Classic field from a fortnight ago, which was $1,865,500.
Add boom colt Rubick, which at $460,000 was in the top 10 at the Magic Millions main sale last year, and last-start winner Pink Perfection, which was a bargain at $70,000, and there is more than $2.5 million of Magic Million talent on show at Randwick.
''These are the horses that our sale is judged by, the top-end pedigrees that bring the big money, so we want to see them perform,'' Magic Millions managing director Vin Cox said.
''It is great to see them getting to the races so early and it proves we are getting the right horses.''
Rubick was the best colt at the Magic Millions, says his trainer Gerald Ryan, and after a barrier-trial romp at Rosehill earlier in the month he might have the most to lose at Randwick.
''Until they do it on the track you can't get too excited,'' Ryan said. ''He has done everything right and I expected him to do something special in the trial but it was better than I expected. He just has to do it on race day now.''
Rubick has already been heavily backed to win next month's Blue Diamond and Sportingbet's Michael Sullivan said a win on Saturday would have him become favourite, regardless of the Blue Diamond preview outcomes.
''We can see it under race conditions and if it does what they are saying it will do, it will probably be the Blue Diamond and Golden Slipper favourite by Saturday night,'' he said. ''We had people wanting to back [Rubick] in the Blue Diamond before the trial and they haven't stopped wanting to take the price, which is $6 at the moment.''
Pink Perfection brings the most race experience into Saturday and after her strong win at Warwick Farm she should not be discounted. ''She went out and got the job done last time and that's her,'' said Josh Parr, who again rides the Peter Moody-trained filly. ''There is plenty of hype around a few of them in this race but she is going to keep them honest.''
