Magic Chai
Race Images
Damian Browne will return home to chase another Ellerslie feature this Saturday.
The expatriate Kiwi jockey has answered the call from Cambridge trainer Tony Pike to ride Magic Chai in the Gr.1 Barfoot & Thompson Auckland Cup (3200m).
“It was getting a bit tricky for a rider here and I’ve known Damian for some time,” Pike said. “He rode Sacred Elixir for me when he had his first start in Queensland.
“He’s very keen to come over and he knows Ellerslie pretty well, he’s won a Karaka Million (on Hardline in 2015) there.”
Magic Chai returned a sound trial on Saturday when he finished strongly from the tail of the field in a slowly run race to run fourth behind cup favourite Ladies First.