Young Victorian jockey Jake Noonan is determined to make the most of his opportunity on live chance I Am The General in the rich Magic Millions Classic.

Noonan was in the right place at the right time to get the chance to trial the Shane Nichols-trained colt at Ballarat ahead of his November debut and has been retained as his jockey in two Victorian starts and the $2 million feature at the Gold Coast on Saturday.

I Am The General, who was third in the Magic Millions Clockwise Classic at Ballarat on debut before winning at Flemington last month, is on the fourth line of betting for the 1200m race ahead of Tuesday’s all-important barrier draw.

“It’s a massive race for myself, Shane and all the connections,” Noonan said.

“It’s probably the first real chance that I’ve ever had in a big race like this.

“I’ve been fortunate enough to ride in a few Group Ones. Even though this isn’t a Group race, it’s worth quite a lot of money and pretty high on the list.

“So it’s the first real chance that I’ve had going into this sort of race.”

Noonan has galloped I Am The General twice since his 1000m win on December 14 at Flemington where he defeated subsequent Melbourne winner Chivalry, and believes the colt has improved since.

A victory in the Magic Millions would be a career boost for Noonan and while the jockey is aware of that, he said it wasn’t his focus.

“At the end of the day, who knows which way it could go,” he said.

“I’m just worried about winning this race and I’ll worry about what comes next after that.

“My main focus is just about winning on this bloke this weekend and just giving him every chance.”