Tony Gollan reveals his Melbourne and Sydney spring carnival team and target races
Antino's Cox Plate path is well documented but the champion Queensland trainer will also have sprinters Zarastro and Golden Boom along with Transatlantic and Freedom Rally heading for Melbourne spring missions.
• PUNT LIKE A PRO: Become a Racenet iQ member and get expert tips – with fully transparent return on investment statistics – from Racenet's team of professional punters at our Pro Tips section. SUBSCRIBE NOW!
Elite mare Floozie, who won four straight when joining Gollan and then started favourite in the Group 1 Tatt's Tiara, is likely to be deployed in Sydney during the spring.
Queensland's star trainer reveals the main goals he has in mind for his touring support squad which will have multiple Group 1 winner and Cox Plate second betting pick Antino as the marquee act.
• Vandyke eyes first Victorian spring since Alligator Blood heroics
ZARASTRO
This is the sprinter who went within a pimple of giving young jockey Angela Jones her first Group 1, being denied by the barest of margins when being run down by a flying Joliestar in the Kingsford Smith Cup during the Queensland winter carnival.
'You might see us head towards the Group 1 Manikato Stakes and then potentially head to Sydney for the Sydney Stakes which is on Everest day,' Gollan said.
'Or we might even look to get him out to 1400m.
'I've got plenty of options with him, but I do want to try him again at Group 1 level at some stage during the spring.'
TRANSATLANTIC
Gollan has openly said for the last 12 months that Transatlantic has the capability to follow a similar trajectory as two-time Group 1 winning star Antino.
Transatlantic didn't finish near them in the Group 1 Stradbroke Handicap when sneaking into the field but Gollan insists he is a proper horse.
'I'm pretty keen for him to do a pretty similar preparation to Antino in 2023, head towards a Toorak Handicap and then possibly finish in the $2m Five Diamonds in Sydney,' Gollan said.
'This horse has excited me for a while.
'I think a mile is probably his go and possibly further.'
Transatlantic may follow a similar path as Antino. Picture: Trackside Photography
• Stable switch: Exciting Queensland filly bound for Victoria
GOLDEN BOOM
The sharp sprinter who has banked more than $1m in prizemoney had one run in Melbourne last spring when finishing runner-up to Mornington Glory in the Listed Carlyon Stakes at The Valley.
He was well beaten in the Jimmysstar's Oakleigh Plate at Caulfield in February and hasn't been at the races since, but brained them in a Deagon trial earlier this week.
'He will head to the same race he was in last year, the Carlyon, and then hopefully go to the Group 1 Moir Stakes,' Gollan said.
'Whereas last year I just went to the one race in Melbourne for him, because he was coming off a winter preparation.
'This year we are fresh into a spring carnival preparation.
'After the Moir there are more options for him if he is going well.'
Golden Boom (blue and white colours) will target the Moir Stakes. Picture: Trackside Photography
• 'She is so humble': Proud mum revels in daughter's premiership feat
FREEDOM RALLY
Gollan has given this $1m earner three attempts at Group 1 level and he has been unplaced at each.
However, he is keen to try something different this spring.
'We want to try to get him out to 2000m this preparation,' Gollan said.
'Whether that be in Melbourne or in Sydney, I don't really have a grand Group 1 goal for him.
'I probably just want to try to get him out in trip, under the top level.
'He will go to Melbourne in the first instance and his first two runs will be there.'
Freedom Rally could be tried over 2000m. Picture: Trackside Photography
• Bookmaker reveals biggest winners and losers in 2024-25
FLOOZIE
The mare was one of the finds of the winter carnival, turning into a winning machine for Gollan after heading north from Mick Price and Michael Kent Jr who trained her in Victoria.
She looked the one to beat in the Group 1 Tatt's Tiara, but finished fifth after looking like she had come to the end of her preparation.
'Later in the spring, you will see this mare head down to Sydney,' Gollan said.
'She will have two to three runs before she has a break with next year's winter carnival in mind.
'There are a few good options for her in Sydney, including The Invitation ($2m race for fillies and mares).'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Australian
an hour ago
- The Australian
A-League: Zinedine Machach leaves Melbourne Victory
Melbourne Victory's 2025-26 A-League title hopes have suffered a blow following the shock exit of French star Zinedine Machach. The 29-year-old midfielder had a season remaining on his Victory contract, but has been released on 'compassionate grounds' by A-League heavyweights. It's understood Machach has accepted a more lucrative deal from a club in Morocco. 'I will look back on my time in Melbourne with fond memories,' Machach said. 'It has been a pleasure to represent the Victory and I would like to thank the club and its fans for making me and my family feel welcomed since I joined. 'I am sad to be leaving, but this decision is the right one for my family and I appreciate the support I have received from the club in making this decision.' Zinedine Machach has been released from his of Melbourne Victory contract. Picture:Machach, who joined the Victory in August 2023 from Greek club Ionikos, scored 14 goals in 64 appearances in all competitions for the Melbourne club. He was part of two Victory grand-final losing teams, and also came up short in last year's Australia Cup decider. Victory director of football John Didulica said Machach had been a 'special player and person for us over the past two seasons'. 'He took to the A-League exceptionally well and played an important part in producing many memorable moments for Melbourne Victory," Didulica said. 'While we are terribly disappointed to lose someone that we are so close to, we know that Zinedine's most important roles in life are that of father and husband, so we support his decision entirely to move closer to family for personal reasons. 'As we say farewell to 'Zizou', we have no doubt that with the talent we currently have and the players we are looking to bring in, we can go one better this season.' Machach is the latest player to part ways with the Victory following the off-season departures of Daniel Arzani (Ferencvaros, Hungary), Ryan Teague (Mechelen, Belgium), Kasey Bos (Mainz 05, Germany), Mitch Langerak (retired), free agent Bruno Fornaroli and loan signing Alex Badolato (Newcastle Jets). Marco Monteverde Sports reporter Marco Monteverde is a Brisbane-based sports reporter for NCA Newswire. He worked in a similar role for The Courier-Mail from 2007 to 2020. During a journalism career of more than 25 years, he has also worked for The Queensland Times, The Sunshine Coast Daily, The Fraser Coast Chronicle and The North West Star. He has covered three FIFA World Cups and the 2000 Sydney Olympics, as well as a host of other major sporting events in Australia and around the world. @marcothejourno Marco Monteverde
The Australian
an hour ago
- The Australian
Jeremy Howe OK as Magpies' finals hopes shaken
Collingwood coach Craig McRae slammed his team's lack of fight and effort after their thumping 64-point loss to Hawthorn at the MCG on Thursday night as their late-season form slump reached alarming levels. McRae admitted his team was 'rocked' by Jeremy Howe's sickening concussion in the opening minutes, and while concerned at how disorganised the backline looked without Howe, he refused to use the star defender's absence as an excuse. Scans cleared Howe, who was taken to hospital, of any further damage and the club confirmed he was home and 'recovering well' but would enter concussion protocols with a return to play unclear. Jeremy Howe was involved in a sickening collision. Picture:Howe's loss came as the Magpies suffered a fourth loss from the past five matches and, concerningly, all of those defeats have been against top-eight teams. After sitting 10 points clear on top of the ladder a mere five weeks ago, and being in first place for 11 straight rounds, they could drop to fourth by Saturday. All of a sudden they're no guarantee of a double chance after being premiership favourites for the bulk of the season. The usually upbeat McRae couldn't hide his devastation after what he agreed was Collingwood's worst performance of the year. 'I apologise to our Magpie Army,' he said. 'That's a disappointing performance. You can't sugarcoat that. 'We're hurting. That one really hurt. Just a lack of system and then a lack of fight, lack of effort – sometimes at the same time, which leaves us really vulnerable. 'When we get behind, we want to chase. Six goals is not enough for me for our fans to watch at home. I don't know how many kept watching right through the end. 'Your 114,000 members expect a certain amount of effort and we didn't have it.' McRae said he needed to quickly 'glue' his team back together with just two games left before finals. 'We just had some really poor efforts at times,' he said. 'This is the reality of what we've got right now. Like I've always said to our players, nothing's permanent. The Magpies had every right to look dejected. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images 'For a long time I don't recall us having that poor of connection … we got hurt really bad. 'We've got … 19 or 20 100-game players. They know how to play their role. 'We've got to back our system in. It's served us well and under pressure, under adversity, go back to what you know and go do your job and it's up to me to glue them together … and we take responsibility for what we did tonight.' McRae was in 'no doubt' that his players had started thinking about outcomes rather than staying in the moment and focusing on the process. 'You can see it and I call it out when I see it,' he said. 'We come back to minutes and seconds. So we lost a few minutes and seconds tonight, but we've got to stay present to that. When you start to think outcome and expectation, then you're not doing, you're thinking. 'So you come to a stoppage and you're out of the position, we go, 'Hey, come on. What are you doing in that position?' So you start to think more than do.' The Collingwood coach also suspected his players had started going into their shells during games, and he had a simple solution for that. 'If you're quiet, talk,' he said. Craig McRae questioned his players' effort. Picture:'What do you do when you have confidence and have form? Just do that. 'Oh, I'm quiet when I've got no confidence' – well, then, be loud. 'I don't go for my marks' – well, go for your marks. 'I tackle when I've got confidence' – well, tackle. So they're actions, not thoughts. It's right in front of us.' McRae said the early loss of Howe couldn't be used as an excuse for defensive disorganisation. 'Three guys flying at the one ball, spoiling at the same time, is not system, and we've worked on that all pre-season,' McRae said. 'Those things we can fix. The effort stuff I'd like to think is an anomaly.' Despite the worrying trajectory his team is on, McRae remains supremely confident about what Collingwood can achieve this year. 'There's still lots of minutes as far as I'm aware, and we'll make the most of those,' he said.
The Australian
an hour ago
- The Australian
AFL: Danny Daly a potential Demons target
Lions premiership-winning mentor Chris Fagan has endorsed the coaching credentials of Brisbane's football manager Danny Daly, who has been linked with the vacant Melbourne job. Daly has recently been touted as Fagan's eventual successor at Brisbane, having long been considered an AFL senior coach-in-waiting during an extensive career that has included previous roles Collingwood, North Melbourne and Richmond. However, the Lions might have a fight on their hands to hold on to Daly, with his name being touted as a potential permanent replaced for sacked Demons coach Simon Goodwin. Lions football manager Danny Daly is regarded as an AFL senior coach-in-waiting. Picture: Richard Walker 'I know we wouldn't like to lose him, that's for sure, but if it was for something like that, I'd be chairing him out of the place and saying `good luck and go well',' Fagan said on Friday. 'He's been a fantastic help to me from the day I arrived here at this football club, and we're like brothers I reckon. 'We talk a lot about football, and I know he's got that capacity inside him to (be an AFL senior coach) if that's what he wants to do. 'That's completely up to Danny, and others who make those sorts of decisions.' Daly replaced David Noble as Brisbane's head of football in November 2020 having previously been the Lions' strategy coach. Noble left Brisbane to become North Melbourne's senior coach, a position he held until July 2022 when he was sacked by the Kangaroos after 38 games at the helm. Marco Monteverde Sports reporter Marco Monteverde is a Brisbane-based sports reporter for NCA Newswire. He worked in a similar role for The Courier-Mail from 2007 to 2020. During a journalism career of more than 25 years, he has also worked for The Queensland Times, The Sunshine Coast Daily, The Fraser Coast Chronicle and The North West Star. He has covered three FIFA World Cups and the 2000 Sydney Olympics, as well as a host of other major sporting events in Australia and around the world. @marcothejourno Marco Monteverde
