Racing
Gold Coast Friday: Robl looking to snap up Debut
Trainer Peter Robl returned from his Hong Kong sojourn overnight and is hopeful of claiming the Magic Millions The Debut with Adora Djon’s at the Gold Coast twilight meeting on Friday night.
"I went to Hong Kong for the International race series on the weekend as I do a lot of work for some bloodstocks and I have a lot of clients I train for who live there," Peter Robl said.
Robl made the move from Sydney just over two years ago and has a team of 35 horses in work at the Gold Coast.
Adora Djon's lines up in a small field in the $250,000 The Debut and Robl is confident the daughter of Pierata will be highly competitive.
However, Robl concedes lining up her opposition is like finding a needle in a hay stack.
"It's hard to line up her opposition as some two-year-olds trial well while others look ordinary," Robl said.
"There's no rule to it as some two-year-olds come on well after ordinary first trials.
"All I can say is my filly is going terrific and she's very professional.
"She's won both her trials and got back in one trial and came up the inside to win."
While knowing little of her opposition, Robl predicted Adora Djon's would be in the first four and will be given every chance.
Adora Djon's is out of the seven-times Brisbane winner Adorabubble and was bought privately by Robl for $100,000.
"Adorabubble was a very good mare trained by Barry Lockwood and her half-sister Adorable Thought won for Barry at Doomben last Wednesday," Robl said.
Robl is confident the former controversial Gold Coast track will be in mint condition for the Magic Millions pipe-opener.
"There was a lot of criticism about the track early on but it's been racing fair recently and has settled right down into a good track," he said.
Robl, who previously trained at Randwick before shifting north, was a multiple Group 1 winning jockey before taking on the trainer caper.
Before a fall ended his career in the saddle, Robl's last winning ride was at the Gold Coast aboard Anymore on Magic Millions day in 2014.
The Debut is a relatively new race on the Magic Millions calendar and has only been conducted four times.
The inaugural running in 2023 was won by the then Nathan Doyle-trained Rush Hour before Too Darn Lizzie and Lead Me On won the feature when it was split by sex in 2024.
The Liam Birchley-trained Amosu claimed this 1000-metre dash in January this year when the daughter of Invader pulled off a spectacular betting plunge firming from $18 in early markets to start at $4.80 on a heavy track.
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