Talented filly Icarian Dream has claimed her first stakes victory and shown that she’s right on track for the Magic Millions 2YO Classic with a convincing win in the B.J. McLachlan Stakes at Eagle Farm.
Trained by Ciaron Maher, Icarian Dream took some good Sydney form into Saturday’s Group 3 race for two-year-olds over 1200m and the filly by Blue Point showed her quality as she sprinted to a 1-1/2-length victory.
Icarian Dream won on debut at Warwick Farm earlier in the season before finishing fourth in the Golden Gift and then second in another race at Rosehill last month.
Maher watched Saturday’s race from Randwick and said he was not surprised to see the filly win stylishly.
“I thought she was desperately unlucky in the Golden Gift and then I thought she was unlucky again last start,” Maher said.
“I thought she was good when she won at Warwick Farm, she had to have a crack that day and she did, so she’s sort of shown that quality all the way along.
“I was not surprised that she did what she did today, but it’s still nice to see it.”
Icarian Dream is set for the $3 million Magic Millions 2YO Classic (1200m) at the Gold Coast on January 11 at her next start, in which she is also eligible for a lucrative bonus on offer because she is raced by an all-female ownership group.
“Her plan has firmly always been the Magic Millions,” Maher said.
“She’s a ladies’ horse, I trained the filly’s mum (Teebo) and she was that type as a young horse.
“She is firmly on track now.”
Icarian Dream ($3) came from midfield and unleashed a good turn of foot on the outside under jockey Jason Collett to defeat Cool Archie ($41) with The Playwright ($4.20) close up in third.
Collett said post-race that his saddle was also slipping a little in the run, so the filly had done well to win.
“Her turn of foot was electric,” Collett told Sky Thoroughbred Central.
“She came to them so quickly and it’s a very long straight for a two-year-old, especially when you are right in the middle, but it was easy. Very easy.”
Icarian Dream will also take some good race experience into the Magic Millions having already raced four times.
“I guess that’s a credit to Ciaron and his team,” Collett said.
“We say it a lot, but she was there at the first two-year-old trials of the season in Sydney and she’s continually raced through. If anything she’s thriving and getting better.”
