Still, records are anticipated: a 25,000 attendance plus betting turnover expected to top last year’s $79.2 million, which bested Queensland’s $60 million on Stradbroke day at Eagle Farm.

Alas, will the stage match Harvey’s theatre? Last Saturday, the Gold Coast conditions favoured those up front. Five leaders scored and the others were in the first three at the 600 metres. Navesh Ramdhani, the answers man on Gold Coast ground, reckons it will be fair on Saturday.

Certainly, he rectified the problem of previous weeks, where navigators went to the outside fence. Ramdhani maintains it was the southerly wind last Saturday that enabled front-runners to sprout a spinnaker.

Me Me Lagarde, for one, comes from behind, and so, too, Russian Conquest in the Magic Millions Guineas. With the assistance of James McDonald, Russian Conquest needs clear passage at the right time.

Speed aplenty will have to be overcome in the Magic Millions Classic for two-year-olds, where Gai Waterhouse will be out to add to her already impressive tally of four wins with Platinum Jubilee, ridden by Regan Bayliss. Bayliss has joined the legion of jockeys who have flourished under the Waterhouse get-up-and-go tactics.

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Yes, racing has the centre stage, if not the pizzazz of the sale ring where thousands fall like confetti, or the cocktail parties, or thoroughbreds going berserk in beach races that finish on roads.

“When people come to the Magic Millions, we’re putting on a show for them,” Harvey decreed.

However, the Gold Coast on Saturday is no place for old men. Rosehill looks good: no recent bias and an attractive meeting with the likelihood of less traffic jams, both on and off the course.

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