By Luke Corda
With just five weeks to go until heats of the Launching Pad, Paul Bartolo appears to be in the box seat after Magic Muffin lit up Sandown Park on Thursday night with a historic run.
Blink and you’ll have missed it.
Magic Muffin exploded out of Box 6 and stopped the section-one clock at 4.94s – and that was all it took for the race to be over.
She sailed away to win in 29.17s.
It was the fastest first split since Koblenz went 4.93s in October 2021, just one month before his Melbourne Cup victory.
Black Magic Opal and the great Fernando Bale share the record at 4.90s.
Everyone on track was left stunned, except for trainer Bartolo.
“She was great, it wasn’t unexpected, though, I know what she can do,” he said.
“I told Ray (Paul’s son) a month ago that this girl will end up breaking 29 – he said ‘oh bulldust!’”
Magic Muffin now has five wins to her name and with the Launching Pad open to runners with no more than six wins, Bartolo has to plan accordingly.
“I’ll space her out, but I also don’t want to give her too long of a break.
“I’ll probably give her two weeks.”
Five weeks out, there’s no argument that Magic Muffin would be the clear Launching Pad favourite. After that?
Her brother and Bartolo’s next best chance, Make No Promise.
Make No Promise owns a flawless three from three record at Sandown including a 27-length win on his track debut.
“We’ve got two tickets for the Launching Pad – one for each of them,” Bartolo said.
“I’m definitely in with a good chance, but we’ll still need some luck.”
Bartolo is no stranger to litter-mate dominance.
He famously scored a Melbourne Cup quinella in 2006 with sisters Betty’s Angel and Miss Mini Mouse.
“I haven’t had chasers like this in years…it’s very exciting.”
Launching Pad Heats are set to run on Thursday 23 March.
