Magician to weave some magic

VETERAN pacer All Star Magician will need to weave some magic to break his Club Menangle hoodoo today.

A regular competitor at the world class venue, All Star Magician has been winless around the 1400-metre circuit since scoring in February 2023.

The son of Art Major has made 25 subsequent appearances at Menangle, which have netted a handful of placings.

During the same period, All Star Magician has won at several country tracks, including Newcastle three starts ago.

Well-graded this afternoon, the Kerry and Dean McDowell-trained gelding has drawn to figure in the finish from barrier three.

"He's no star, just an honest sort of bloke," Dean said. "He's the kind of pacer which pops up every now and then and has won 20 races over a long career.

"He is in good form at the moment with a win and three seconds from his last five starts.

"We can never be too confident with him, but he is in a race where he has a reasonable chance, so we will see how it goes."