After upsetting his more fancied rivals in the 18th running of $1.3 million Eros Trophy on Saturday, trainer Anthony Nunes revealed that Houdini’s Magic ran according to plan.

Ridden by Wesley Henry, Houdini’s Magic, who was sent off as a 10-1 betting option in the small field of six runners in the seven furlong (1,400m) event, made all the running to win by over three lengths, defeating Campesino and Perfect Neighbour. The ticking of the clock stopped at 1:24.2, supported by quarterly splits of 23.2, 46.2 and 1:10.4.

“First of all, the performance was just fantastic. I mean it was a really good performance by him ( Houdini’s Magic) to win here today (Saturday). We expected him to go to the lead as that was what we wanted him to do because we had Bigdaddykool in the race also.

“If we had one horse ( Houdini’s Magic) with speed and one ( Bigdaddykool) who comes from behind then it suited us to have Houdini’s Magic on the lead and being the fighter that he is, he held his gallop well. I am really happy for him, he is a fighter,” Nunes said.

From a clean break, Houdini’s Magic shot from the number two draw straight to the front of the pack, with Campesino (Ian Spence) chasing.

The order remained the same until at the half-mile (800m) when Campesino who hugged the inside rails, came up to challenge Houdini’s Magic for the lead.

The two was locked in battle until in deep stretch when Houdini’s Magic found extra and began to draw away for a three-and –a-half length win.

“Well now he has lost his Overnight Allowance condition because he won this Grade One event but he still has Open Allowance to compete in,” the trainer said.

— Ruddy Allen