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By Frances O’Shea

Wyong Magic Millions will be the next mission for David Atkins boom colt Jonker after his impressive debut at Newcastle on Sunday. Atkins said the colt had pulled up well following his eye-catching three-length win over 900m on his home track and the December 21 race at Wyong was the perfect progression.

The dominant victory in a smart time saw the colt installed as $11 second favourite for the $2 Million Magic Millions Classic on January 13.

“He will need more prizemoney to get into the Gold Coast race and hopefully he can do that at Wyong,” Atkins said. “The track should suit him and I think the 1100m is ideal. I can see him running better over the 1100 and 1200m trips.”

Atkins said while Jonker’s first win was good, he would need to make the next step to be competitive on the Gold Coast.

Jonker (Aaron Bullock) returns to scale after an impressive debut win at Newcastle. Image by Bradley Photographers

“He’s got to keep stepping up particularly once you start taking on the bigger stables. He’s doing everything right at this stage but he has to keep improving.

“All being well he will have his next start at Wyong. It will be a much stronger field and give us a better indication as to where he is heading.”

Atkins said he hadn’t had a Magic Millions runner before and Jonker had been purchased specifically for the race.

“I could count the number of two-year-olds I’ve had on one hand but this bloke was bought for that reason. He does have plenty of ability so hopefully he can make it to the Gold Coast.”

Paul Snowden confirmed the stable would also target the Wyong race with several runners but was uncertain if current $8 Magic Millions favourite Bondi would be among them.

“There are a couple of options in Queensland so at this stage I don’t know where we will head with Bondi,” he said. “Our aim is to qualify as many runners as we can so we are chasing the prizemoney.

“Bondi had a nice trial at Wyong on Monday. He had look at the track and that is an advantage. He’s nowhere near screwed down yet with the grand final still six weeks away.”