What a comforting thing it is for any owner, trainer or jockey to be involved with a horse capable of delivering a peak performance no matter what the conditions. There are few better examples currently than four year old Magic Time whose record clearly illustrates an indifference to track conditions.
In October 2022 the daughter of Hellbent won her maiden on the synthetic track at Pakenham by a decisive five lengths. Three weeks later she took care of a handy field in the Gr 3 Amanda Elliott on a good track at Flemington. Fast forward to April of 2023 when she struck a very heavy track for the first time in the P.J. Bell Stakes at Randwick. Totally oblivious to the shifty ground underfoot, Magic Time emphatically defeated talented mares Parisal, Lady Laguna and Opal Ridge in the Gr 3.
She was back last spring for a four race campaign, all on firm and fast tracks. She reeled off a sizzling 1.08.78 to win the Nivison at Rosehill and followed with a strong third to Espiona in the Gr 3 The Invitation at Randwick. Grahame Begg whisked her back to Melbourne where she opened her Gr 1 account by defeating seriously talented horses I Am Me and Strait Acer in the Rupert Clarke Stakes on a firm Caulfield track. The astute Begg had her in the paddock a few days later. Magic Time had furnished noticeably by the time she resumed in a very strong Newmarket in early March. Like most horses confronted with the Flemington straight for the first time, the lightly raced mare was perhaps a little unsure of herself before finishing sixth just 2.3 lengths from winner Cylinder. From a future perspective the run put a smile on Grahame Begg’s face.
Magic Time wins the Rupert Clarke Stakes from I Am Me and Strait Acer at Caulfield - her first Gr. 1 - courtesy Racing Photos.
Back in Sydney for Day 1 of The Championships, and Magic Time struck a cracker field in the T.J. Smith. Any possible benefit from the number one gate was negated by a Heavy 8 track and an inside lane that was almost certainly a disadvantage on the day. She got up on the inside to look dangerous for a few strides before weakening slightly to finish seventh only a length from the winner Chain Of Lightning. Grahame was adamant the run would bring her on for the All Aged Stakes. The trainer knows this mare well.
By the time the All Aged Stakes rolled around on Saturday, the track had been downgraded to a Heavy 10. The unflappable Magic Time wouldn’t have cared had they been racing on quicksand. She “pinged” away perfectly and quickly came back underneath Michael Dee who was happy to settle in a three wide trailing position behind Bandersnatch. Further pressure came into the equation at the 600m when Buffalo River chimed in to make a line of four leaders. Sitting right behind them near the fence was Sunshine In Paris who looked an imminent danger at that point. The Neasham trained mare floundered the moment Ryan Maloney let her off the bridle, but not so Magic Time.
She was four lengths off Amenable and Private Eye when she came to the outside on topping the rise, where Bandersnatch and Buffalo River had called it a day. This mare’s work from the 200m home was the stuff only budding topliners can do. She extended as she would have on top of the ground and switched into serious racehorse mode. Magic Time was all business as she claimed Victorian gelding Amenable and was charging away on the line to win by half a length with Private Eye a well beaten third and the others in a different postcode. “She’s one of the best triers I’ve ever trained,” said Grahame Begg on Sunday morning. “She’s absolutely one hundred percent racehorse. Other than feed time when she can get a little testy, she has a lovely temperament. I’ve trained few mares with a better appetite. She makes short work of every feed, which makes my job that much easier.”
This bloke knows how to ride a Gr. 1 winner. Michael Dee had Magic Time fairly flying in the closing stages of the All Aged Stakes - courtesy Steve Hart Photographics
Respected owner/breeder John Muir says he’s waited a lifetime for a horse like Magic Time. “I’ve had the good fortune to race a handful of Gr 1 winners but nothing quite like this mare,” said John. “She ticks every box as a racehorse and is unfazed when track conditions change unexpectedly. I’m sure she’s just as effective on a heavy track as she is on firm ground. Grahame Begg has looked after her with great care leaving plenty of horse to work with over the next twelve months.
“I’m delighted to report that Magic Time’s half sister by Zoustar, a filly called Cosmonova has won two provincial races for Joe Pride. There’s an unraced two year old colt by Dundeel in the Anthony/Sam Freedman stable in Melbourne but unfortunately Time Awaits missed to Wild Ruler the following season. We had to withdraw her Maurice colt from the recent Inglis Easter Sale, but we were cheered by news that she’s safely in foal to I Am Invincible. That foal of course will be a three quarter brother or sister to Magic Time.”
For close to half a century John Muir combined his huge commitment to the motor trade with his passion for commercial thoroughbred breeding. In 2018 he had little choice but to wind down the landmark Muir’s Motors dealership on Parramatta Rd at Ashfield - a dealership established by his late father Les as far back as 1946. With very mixed feelings John sold the historic site to the NSW Government to make way for stage three of the massive Westconnex development. The closure brought down the curtain on the extraordinary history of a company which once commanded fifty two per cent of Sydney’s Holden market.
The Muirs Motors dealership on Parramatta Road at Ashfield in the days when Holden was Australia's favourite family car.
John merely dabbled with the breeding of horses in the late 60’s and early 70’s but in 1973 he suddenly found himself with a small band of broodmares. It was his late father Les who suggested it was time to invest in a small property where the mares could be kept under one roof, and where young stock could be reared and prepared for sale. The Muir’s found a suitable farm on Milburn Creek near Cowra, quickly installed the necessary facilities and found the right people to operate a small breeding enterprise. John spent most of his time in the car dealership at Ashfield but visited the Cowra farm whenever time permitted.
After thirteen years the mileage wore him down to the extent that a similar property much closer to Sydney had become a matter of urgency. He was fortunate to locate and purchase a flood free former dairy farm at Grose Vale near Richmond. He literally transformed the run down property into a first class broodmare farm and from that location began to forge a reputation as a very professional participant in the competitive commercial breeding market.
John’s dream of establishing a state of the art operation came to fruition in the year 2000 with the purchase of Old Fernbrook Farm at Wildes Meadow on the Southern Highlands. In more recent years he’s been able to add two adjoining properties “Rosemont” and “Cadross” expanding his breeding farm to 250 acres. Sheer sentiment was probably the catalyst in John’s decision to retain the “Milburn Creek” banner in the official name of his business as we know it today. Milburn Creek Stud has become a familiar and trusted name on the pages of Australia’s yearling sales catalogues.
John Muir has been a commercial horse breeder for 6 decades. He was lucky enough to retain Magic Time when she failed to meet her reserve at the Gold Coast sale - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
John Muir owned broodmares have produced numerous stakes winners with a select few at the elite level. Sizzling won a Gr 1 T.J. Smith Stakes in Brisbane while Once Were Wild prevailed in the Gr 1 Australian Oaks at Randwick. Redoute’s Dancer won a Gr 1 NZ Derby, Prince Standaan a Gr 2 Moonee Valley Gold Cup and Enforced a Gr 2 Doomben Classic.
John bred and sold another stylish Redoute’s Choice colt in which he arranged to retain a share. Hampton Court won the 2014 listed Dulcify Quality with Brazilian ace Joie Moreira on board, and just one week later followed up with a win in the Gr 1 Spring Champion Stakes handled by a young Josh Parr. Hampton Court’s Randwick course record for the 2000m trip stands to this day.
Hampton Court (Josh Parr) wins the 2014 Spring Champion Stakes in track record time - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
The circumstances under which John elected to race Magic Time under the Milburn Creek Stud banner are already well documented. The story began when the breeder went to $300,000 to purchase her dam Time Awaits at the 2018 Gold Coast Mares Sale. The mare had raced ten times for a Pipeliner Bloodstock Syndicate with Tony McEvoy as trainer, recording three wins and two seconds. She won an open two year old race, the listed Cinderella Stakes and the Gr 3 SA Sires Produce Stakes all on the Morphettville track. Two stakes wins and the fact that she was a daughter of Nature Strip’s sire Nicconi brought her under the notice of some fairly astute breeders, but it was John Muir who took her home.
In selecting Time Await’s first stallion mating, John elected to use a breeding right he’d purchased in I Am Invincible’s heir apparent Hellbent. This former smart sprinter retired to Yarraman Park Stud with a record of seven wins, five placings, a Gr 1 win and two Gr 1 placings on his CV. John took the resultant filly to the Gold Coast Sale in 2021 with a reserve of $150,000 in place. He was shocked when the filly, albeit a little raw and immature fell well short of her reserve. John takes up the story. “I went around to her stall a little later wondering what the hell I was going to do with her,” he recalled. “She lifted her head out of the feed bin and looked me straight in the eye. It was a look I’d never seen before, almost as though she was pleading with me to take her home.
“When it comes to my horses I’m a helpless sentimentalist. I decided to take her back to Wildes Meadow and race her with my wife Trish in the Milburn Creek Stud colours. She’s already won six races including two Gr1’s from just twelve starts. The choice of Grahame Begg as my trainer stemmed from a previous wonderful association with Secret Admirer some years ago - another one of mine to be shunned by buyers at the Classic Yearling Sale. Grahame mentioned that he really liked the filly, and actually asked me to put him on the list as a prospective trainer. It’s now history that he trained her to win two Gr1’s with eight Gr 1 placings and something like $1.4 million dollars. As everybody knows luck’s a fortune in the racing game.”
Secret Admirer in the Milburn Creek colours storms home to win the 2011 Epsom - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
Already on a high after the All Aged Stakes win John was sent into another stratosphere when several friends and associates drew his attention to a certain $20 million race called The Everest later this year. Grahame Begg shed some light on future plans when I spoke with him on Sunday morning. “She pulled up in sensational order after the All Aged and in her usual style, all but ate the feed bin on Saturday night,” said Grahame. “In a week’s time we’ll slip her quietly to the Gold Coast where she’ll be domiciled during the Brisbane winter carnival. We’ll look closely at the Gr 1 Kingsford Smith Cup over 1300m at WFA, an absolutely ideal race for the mare. I think she’ll thrive up there as the weather cools. All being well we might even look at the Tatts Tiara, the last Australian Gr 1 of the season. She can then have a good “blow” with a view to being noticed by some discerning Everest slot holder. That’s the plan for now.”
As John Muir’s 80th birthday draws near, an army of friends share his delight in the emergence of a pretty special mare. This man has given his total commitment to the breeding of thoroughbreds over more than six decades, making a million friends along the way. I’ll be one of many to give the brown and white checked jacket with the white cap a very close watch in all of Magic Time’s future engagements.
John Muir holds the All Aged Stakes trophy aloft on a gloomy afternoon at Randwick - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
(Banner image - Magic Time could have been galloping on a fast track rather than a H10 surface - courtesy Bradley Photographers.)