Stathi Katsidis is adamant he has found the right horse to give him his first Magic Millions victory after he lifted Military Rose to a breathtaking win in the Listed BJ McLachlan Stakes at Doomben.Military Rose overcame a slow start, a changed racing pattern and a mid-race scrimmage to win Saturday's 1200m feature in the last bound and convince Katsidis she was the real deal."She's definitely Magic Millions material," Katsidis said."It was a fairly rough race and she got smashed from pillar to

Stathi Katsidis is adamant he has found the right horse to give him his first Magic Millions victory after he lifted Military Rose to a breathtaking win in the Listed BJ McLachlan Stakes at Doomben.

Military Rose overcame a slow start, a changed racing pattern and a mid-race scrimmage to win Saturday's 1200m feature in the last bound and convince Katsidis she was the real deal.

"She's definitely Magic Millions material," Katsidis said.

"It was a fairly rough race and she got smashed from pillar to post about the 600 but she dug really deep in the straight.

"I thought she'd either lead or be right on the pace but she missed the start and it was probably a blessing in disguise the way it turned out."

Military Rose ($3.50 fav) looked unlikely to reel in the leaders when she was midfield rounding the turn but she lengthened stride when Katsidis found galloping room and finished powerfully to snatch a long head win over Marking Time ($9).

Gold Coast youngster Startsmeup ($5) did his Magic Millions claims no harm when he battled bravely in the straight to finish three-quarters of a length away third while Ringa Ringa Rosie disappointed and only struggled in the straight to finish 11th.

Winning trainer Gillian Heinrich said she was shocked to see Military Rose so far back in the run.

"I didn't expect her to be back there and I didn't think she could win from where she was," Heinrich said.

"But how versatile is she.

"She's ready to rock now for the Millions and I definitely won't be tying Stathi down with any riding instructions after that."

Meanwhile, John Wallace believes his promising stayer Forbes is a big race winner in the making after he scored a grinding victory in the opening event.

Forbes is a lightly raced six-year-old Zabeel gelding and Saturday's win was his third victory from just 16 starts.

Wallace said Forbes would back up at the Gold Coast next Saturday and hinted at taking the gelding to Sydney for an autumn carnival campaign.

"He might be a Sydney Cup horse," Wallace said.

"He'll go all day and the further they go the better.

"This horse is just starting to learn what's it all about and he just keeps getting better with each run."

Wining rider Jim Byrne said Forbes was a genuine stayer with untapped potential.

"There's no doubt he's a very good horse," Byrne said.

"He was very dour this time and strong at the line and he'll be better again over further."