Griffiths Eyes Caulfield Magic Millions After Rey Magnerio’s Gold Rush Win

Kristen Manning

Editor

Last updated: Thu 18 Dec 2025 02:03

Kristen Manning 18 Dec 2025

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Robbie Griffiths celebrates Rey Magnerio's victory in the Gold Rush
Strategic planning and recovery contributed to their success
Upcoming races anticipated for Griffiths' talented team

Jye McNeil rides Rey Magnerio to victory in the Rubiton Stakes at Caulfield. (Getty)

It was straight back to work – but with a big grin on his face – for Robbie Griffiths at Cranbourne on Monday morning, who days later is still on a high following the Gold Rush success of his terrific galloper Rey Magnerio.

Catching a Sunday morning flight from Perth (whilst the horse was due to fly out on Wednesday evening), Robbie didn’t have a lot of time for the win to sink in, with track work and trials on the agenda, but he is certainly excited by what happened last weekend.

“We had a great time, Rey was brilliant,” Griffiths said, adding that his horse had an even better time!

“He absolutely loved Perth,” he said, noting that throughout the running of the Gold Rush he was quite confident.

“You can’t get too ahead of yourself, but watching it we were pretty happy. You can see why Pikey wins so many races over there!”

Having Rey Magnerio in a great position throughout, Pike was delighted to win the race, having been disappointed not to have taken the prize two weeks earlier in the Group 1 Winterbottom Stakes.

“He was pretty bullish that we should’ve won that race and he was keen to stick with him,” Robbie said, with a tricky gate in the small field the difference between winning and placing.

“It probably cost him three lengths,” he said, with Rey Magnerio going under by only half a length.

Robbie is thrilled with the way Rey Magnerio pulled up from the race.

“He licked his bin clean and had a great morning at the beach on Sunday.”

It was always the plan to take Rey Magnerio to Perth and he had a light Melbourne spring with that in mind.

“He won the Caulfield Sprint first-up and we kept him to the 1000m (the Listed Century Stakes) for his next run rather than tackle the Champions Sprint.”

“That was a less taxing option and it meant that he was still on fresh legs for Perth.”

The Gold Rush, however, was not part of the original plan, with his campaign aimed at the Winterbottom.

“Often when you travel with a horse you only get one run out of them, but Rey pulled up so well from his first run we decided to have a crack at another race.”

The 1400m didn’t concern Robbie much, mindful that Rey Magnerio’s 3/4 brother Magnapal was a Group 3 winner over 2000m.

“You can never really say they will run a trip until they do, but genetically the signs were there.”

With an 80% better record than any other trainer of the Magnus breed, Robbie has an understandable love affair with that stallion and hopes that breeders with them “will send more my way!”

“They’re all such blasé horses,” he said, noting that whilst they often don’t show much at two, they improve as older horses.

“Once they get to a certain age it all kicks in for them,” he said, adding that “the whole family (the likes of Black Caviar and All Too Hard) get better as they mature.”

Robbie hopes the stable’s good run continues to Caulfield on Saturday, where he saddles up two runners on The Heath track, kicking off with the debutant Invincible Son in the Magic Millions Victorian 2YO Classic.

Drawn 8 with Jamie Melham aboard, the son of Golden Slipper winner Farnan from a high-class US family has solid jump-out and trial form, with Robbie confident that he has even more to offer than what he has shown in those hit-outs.

“He was a bit fractious in the gates at his first one and didn’t get his barrier certificate, so we just wanted him to have a quiet one next time.”

“And we wanted to let him have a nice, easy, gentle look around Caulfield, and whilst Guest House won that trial easily, I don’t think there is as much between him and our horse as it looked.”

Tackling another Magic Millions contest, the 3YO & 4YO Classic later in the day is Zourain, whose latest uncharacteristically poor showing can be explained.

“He is such a consistent horse who needed an excuse and he had it – he swallowed a lot of dirt and was coughing and coughing,” Robbie reported.

“He probably needs a couple of others to have a bad day, but he is very strong over the 1200m and he will be there to pounce.”

“If it doesn’t work out, it will be a nice race for him to step up to 1400m from.”

A $160,000 Magic Millions graduate, the Flemington and Moonee Valley winner is a half-brother to the Group 1 sprinter Bella Vella.