Latest news with #Gollan
Herald Sun
27-05-2025
- Sport
- Herald Sun
Tony Gollan turns to Blake Shinn in bid to win Stradbroke Handicap golden ticket
Blake Shinn and Tony Gollan combined for an exhilarating Group 1 triumph last weekend and they will hopefully unite again for another major mission at Eagle Farm on Saturday. Don't miss out on the headlines from Horse Racing. Followed categories will be added to My News. Racing's dream team of Blake Shinn and Tony Gollan could be back in business for another major mission on Saturday. A week after Antino was a Group 1 Doomben Cup destroyer, the superstar Victorian jockey has been booked for a bid to try to qualify a progressive Gollan three-year-old for the Group 1 Stradbroke Handicap. However, there is a hurdle with Shinn on Tuesday revealing he had sustained a minor injury and would take a step back from riding engagements in coming days. But he will do everything possible to be riding at Eagle Farm on Saturday. • Racenet iQ members get full access to our Pro Tips service, where Greg Polson and our team of professional punters provide daily tips with fully transparent return on investment statistics. SUBSCRIBE NOW and start punting like a pro! Apprentice Emily Lang, who leads the Brisbane jockeys' premiership race by eight wins, has ridden Boomtown Boss in his last three starts and has ridden the gelding to all four of his career wins. Boomtown Boss also provided a huge moment in Lang's young career when she secured her first Stakes winner, riding him to score in the Listed Daybreak Lover in April. But Shinn, assuming he is fit, gets the job on Saturday as a Stradbroke Handicap golden ticket is offered up for the winner of the Group 3 Fred Best Classic (1400m) at Eagle Farm. — Blake Shinn (@blake_shinn) May 27, 2025 • 'He'll be competitive': Bosustow weighted to win Straddie Boomtown Boss had been a winning machine before a wide barrier and stretching out to the 1600m of the Group 2 Queensland Guineas found him out last start. Gollan thinks back to 1400m is a key and he revealed he would love to give Boomtown Boss a shot at Queensland's most prestigious race. 'Absolutely, I would love to run him in the Stradbroke if he won on Saturday and pulled up well,' Gollan said. 'In the Guineas, he drew wide and went wider on a day where it was a disadvantage to do that. 'A mile was the outer limits of his distance range, for sure, but he is back to the sweet spot of his distance range. 'The 1400(m) at Eagle Farm looks ideal for him. He looks well placed in what is going to be a good race. 'He is a work in progress and he is still doing a fair bit wrong.' • 'Mixed emotions': Collett will head back home to New Zealand In TAB's all-in betting market ahead of the Fred Best Classic barrier draw on Wednesday, Boomtown Boss is a $13 chance. Hype horse Angel Capital, which will have his first start for Chris Waller since being transferred from Clinton McDonald, is the $3.60 favourite. Meanwhile, Gollan indicated it was onwards and upwards for Antino after his blockbuster Group 1 win last Saturday. Antino was allotted 58kg when the Stradbroke Handicap weights were revealed on Monday, but he has been sent for a spell with a Cox Plate spring mission now the priority. Antino is on the second line of Cox Plate betting at $8, with Via Sistina the $2.50 favourite. Renowned ratings guru Daniel O'Sullivan said of Antino's Doomben Cup romp: 'He clearly stamped himself as the second-best horse in the country (behind Via Sistina). All going well, it shapes as a blockbuster clash between the two in this year's G1 WFA Cox Plate.' • NZ greyhounds launch High Court challenge over ban Gollan said on Tuesday: 'Antino has pulled up great, although he was a bit tired Saturday night after the run which is understandable when you run track record pace. 'He will have a short break, maybe three weeks off, and then we will probably kick him off in the Memsie Stakes. 'What happened last Saturday has definitely sunk in now. 'It's now all about planning for the next mission.' Originally published as Tony Gollan turns to Blake Shinn in bid to win Stradbroke Handicap golden ticket with Boomtown Boss in Fred Best Classic Horse Racing Giga Kick's trainer Clayton Douglas has given a telling insight into his champion horse after giving him a spin around Eagle Farm ahead of the Group 1 Kingsford Smith Cup. Horse Racing The fields and barrier draws for Saturday's Group 1 Kingsford Smith Cup and Queensland Derby have been released.
7NEWS
24-05-2025
- Sport
- 7NEWS
Antino blitzes the field in Doomben Cup stunner
Antino has confirmed his status as one of the best horses in Australia with a breathtaking win in the Group 1 Doomben Cup (2000m). Now a dual Group 1 winner, $3 favourite Antino was as impressive as his 6-½ length victory in last year's Toorak Handicap, Blake Shinn once again circling the field to score by four lengths over $8.50 chance Fawkner Park, with Kovalica ($7) just edging Militarize ($19) for third. Relishing the typically punishing tempo set by Pride Of Jenni, who was a noted betting drifter and a spent force early in the straight after being dug up to lead, Antino backed up his 3-½ length win in the Hollidale Stakes to confirm his position as one of the top horses in Australia. This was Tony Gollan's eighth career Group One win and third in his home state of Queensland, and 'special' was the word he felt best described the win. 'He's been the best horse I've trained for some time,' Gollan said. 'Took until last year to win the Toorak, win the Group One and from then, I think we've all just got better as a team, haven't we? We've done things better and he's gone to another level. 'What we've seen today is pretty special. It's a pretty good Doomben Cup field. He's won impressively and we can set our sights now on Melbourne in the spring. 'He's a very good horse, a world class jockey, and I've got a world class team to help me get him ready.' Now clearly proven over 2000m, targets don't come much bigger than the race Gollan has set his sights on, suggesting the Cox Plate would be his Spring goal. 'We'll put him away now for the Cox Plate. I think his style of racing, suits a race like that, that amphitheatre there, where they can build and build and build,' Gollan said. 'I just said to Blake today, I couldn't get him any better than what he is today and when it's time to go, he'll give it to you today. He's really spot on. 'At the Gold Coast he was a little bit soft. Today, he's rock fit and that's pretty impressive. That's as good a win as I've been involved in. It means a lot to the whole team.'
News.com.au
20-05-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
Tony Gollan insists Doomben Cup not a two-horse race between Antino and Pride Of Jenni
There will be beers flowing freely if either Antino or Pride Of Jenni wins the Group 1 Doomben Cup, but champion Queensland trainer Tony Gollan warns 'it's certainly not a two-horse race.' The Brisbane Racing Club's promotion of a free amber ale for any adult on track if either of the two favourites scores the Doomben Cup is a great promotional tool, but Antino's trainer Gollan said it would be no surprise if there was a party pooper. While Blake Shinn 's daring ride on Antino to win the Hollindale Stakes was exceptional, Gollan said the nature of the Gold Coast track that day meant there were plenty of valid excuses among the beaten brigade. Doomben Cup contenders such as Eliyass and Buckaroo were beaten out of sight on the Heavy 9 track that day and other Doomben Cup hopefuls such as last year's winner Bois D'Argent and Fawkner Park also didn't love the sodden track. Pride Of Jenni and Antino may be the top pegs in Doomben Cup betting, but Gollan said there are many chances in one of the better Doomben Cups he can remember in his time training in Brisbane. 'There is some media around the promotion with the free beers and that's all great for the carnival,' Gollan said. 'But this is certainly not a two-horse race. 'We are well aware there are many chances and it's probably as strong a Doomben Cup as we have seen for some time. 'It is a hell of a deep Doomben Cup. 'I don't think I have seen a Doomben Cup for some time with so many chances in it and it will be such a good betting race. 'I think a lot of people will discard the Hollindale form, to a degree, due to the way the track was that day with the kickback. 'You can make excuses for beaten horses there for sure.' Antino had a spin around Doomben at 6am on Tuesday with his regular track work rider, former jockey Baylee Nothdurft, in the saddle. It wasn't an overtaxing gallop with Gollan mindful it was a big effort to win the Hollindale and now he just needs to tick him over before Saturday. Pride Of Jenni was due to arrive on a flight to Queensland on Tuesday night and Gollan is glad the Ciaron Maher -trained freakish talent is in the race. Given the different track conditions – with little rain forecast in Brisbane this week – and Pride Of Jenni's frontrunning style, Gollan said it will be a very different race to the Hollindale. 'How much you want to take out of that Gold Coast meeting will be up to each person individually,' Gollan said. 'I think it's going to be a hell of a race, we know what Pride Of Jenni's style of racing is. 'There are plenty coming out of the Hollindale that you can make excuses for. 'There were contributing factors down there as to why some horses didn't run to their best, with the surface that day and the kickback.' Gollan said Antino, last year's Group 1 Toorak Handicap champion, is the best horse he has trained. Asked specifically why he holds Antino in such high esteem, Gollan said it was because 'of his ability to sustain a gallop for longer than any horse I've ever trained'. Pride Of Jenni drew barrier one for her Doomben Cup assignment while Antino drew barrier 11 of 13. Drawing out wide isn't too much of a worry for Antino, given he is sometimes slow away and a wider draw can be preferable to an inside draw. He started from barrier 10 of 13 when Shinn took off from back in the field to win the Hollindale. The Doomben Cup has produced double-figure winners the last three years with Bois D'Argent ($26) getting the chocolates last year and the previous two years Huetor saluted at $10 and $26.
News.com.au
02-05-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
Tony Gollan says Freedom Rally is the ‘forgotten horse' in a very competitive Victory Stakes at Eagle Farm
Tony Gollan has scored the Victory Stakes with a pair of Group 1 stars, but struggles to remember such a big and competitive field with as much depth as will be on show on Saturday. Temple Of Boom (2014) and Antino (last year) have claimed the Victory for Queensland's champion trainer but both had to beat eight and seven rivals respectively. A full field of 16 plus one emergency were declared on Wednesday declared for the Group 2 Victory which is Queensland's traditional winter carnival pipe-opener for the sprinters at Eagle Farm. As Gollan declared one of his four runners was the forgotten contender in the field, he lauded the strength and depth of Saturday's edition of the 1200m sprint which has several contenders including Gollan's Hidden Wealth vying for favouritism. 'Some years going back in time, it was a soft-option weight-for-age race,' Gollan said. 'But this year it's a very good race and this would be as big a Victory Stakes field as we have seen for some time. 'Often there have been eight runners, so it is really a show of the depth of what this carnival has got this year. 'I think there's going to be a good bit of pressure in it and I can't recall a Victory Stakes with such a big field and with so depth. 'It's a weight-for-age race but it will be run somewhat like a handicap. 'There will be enough pressure in it to break up the field, it's a really good start to the carnival.' Hidden Wealth, resuming after last being seen scoring a $1.5m sprint on Magic Millions day, is considered Gollan's leading contender at $5.50 in betting. However, Gollan believes Freedom Rally is well poised to spring an upset at $16. Two starts ago, Freedom Rally finished two lengths off Mr Brightside in the Group 1 Futurity Stakes over 1400m at Caulfield in February. • 'If you look at the four runners of ours, there are probably two runners which stand out,' Gollan said 'Freedom Rally has obviously been to a good level and having him back at home, at Eagle Farm, I think he is the forgotten horse in the race. 'It could be a bit short for him, but he has freshened up nicely. 'Hidden Wealth is a horse on the rise, doing everything right. 'This could be a breakout carnival for him. 'Out of the four, they are my two that probably look like they could go to a good level or above.' Gollan has King Kapa ($15) and Cannonball ($51) rounding out his four-strong attack on the Victory. The top trainer also has a leading contender in the Group 2 Queensland Guineas, with Boomtown Boss and apprentice jockey Emily Lang striving for their third consecutive win. Gollan said the Guineas was a long-range target but there is also the potential for him to try to qualify for the Group 1 Stradbroke Handicap later in the carnival. 'He is such an improving horse and, don't forget, he went into his first-up run without a trial,' Gollan said. 'I think he is spot on for the weekend. 'After Saturday, does he go back to a Fred Best Classic to try to get a golden ticket into a Stradbroke, I'm not sure? 'I have always seen him as a Guineas type horse and Saturday is going to tell me exactly what I do with him going forward. 'He's out to a mile for the first time, but you would be brave to say he wouldn't run it, the way he's been racing.'
News.com.au
01-05-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
Premier trainer Tony Gollan is eyeing a Stradbroke berth with Archer hopeful Transatlantic
Brisbane's top trainer Tony Gollan is feeling a strong sense of deja vu with his Stradbroke Handicap hope Transatlantic, but this time he hopes it turns out for the best. Over the past two years, Gollan's stable stars Antino and Freedom Rally have fallen agonisingly short of securing spots in the Group 1 Stradbroke Handicap (1400m) at Eagle Farm. Last year, Freedom Rally won the Listed Wayne Wilson (1600m) as a consolation prize while Antino won the same race in 2023 after also dipping out on a Stradbroke berth. But Gollan is praying it will be third-time lucky with Transatlantic, which kicks off his 2025 campaign in the $1m The Archer slot race (1300m) at Rockhampton on Sunday. Jennifer Acton, the slot holder for Transatlantic and widow of Queensland cattle baron Alan, drew barrier two at a Rockhampton property on Wednesday night when participants were asked to pick one of 12 dogs to reveal their gate number. 'To me it feels a little bit like deja vu with those horses (Antino and Freedom Rally),' Gollan said. 'They did really good jobs in their summer preparations and they ticked boxes that they could make Stradbroke horses at that time of their lives. 'Unfortunately we were so close but so far with both of them without getting into the race. 'Both ran in the Wayne Wilson the same day (as the Stradbroke) and were dominant winners. 'Hopefully we're not doing the same thing with this horse (Transatlantic). But he gives me the right feel this horse, similar to those other two horses at the same stage.' Transatlantic won his last start, the $300,000 The Buffering (1400m) at Eagle Farm on December 28, but Gollan had hatched his Stradbroke plan for the son of Snitzel well before that race. 'I really liked the horse going into the Queensland Guineas last year but unfortunately we didn't get to see him as good as what he is because he pulled up with a virus a few days later when he went to the paddock,' Gollan said. • 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! 'He ran second in the Listed Daybreak Lover (in April last year) and he was still an immature horse back then. 'In the Guineas he started second or third favourite but I got a feeling of how good he is. 'The summer was all about getting him ready for hopefully this winter. 'I've felt if he can keep on developing like I hope he can, he can become a really good horse.' Gollan said Transatlantic would likely run in the Group 3 BRC Sprint (1350m) at Doomben on May 24 and possibly the Group 1 Kingsford Smith Cup (1300m) at Eagle Farm on May 31, giving him a two-week lead-in to the Stradbroke Handicap on June 14, if he makes the field. 'We have to be realistic. The winter carnival is a massive step up from the summer and there are no easy races, they're all strong, so he needs to go to another level,' Gollan said. 'It feels to me in his work that he really has and I'm hopeful that we'll see that when he gets to the 1300m, 1400m in this preparation. 'If I can get him to the Stradbroke, he's the sort of horse who can be very competitive with a light weight.' Gollan is hunting his first Group 1 on home turf since Jamie Melham rode Vega One to victory in the 2021 Kingsford Smith Cup. In the two-year-old ranks, he rates Hi Barbie as a potential winter carnival star and gelding Boomtown Boss, which will contest this Saturday's Group 2 Queensland Guineas (1600m) at Eagle Farm, as a serious contender among his three-year-olds. 'Boomtown Boss can't do much more than what he's been doing,' he said. 'He's won his first two races back (this campaign) and he's probably as good a chance as I've had going into a Queensland Guineas since I've been training. 'Of the older sprinters, you've got Hidden Wealth, I think he's gone to a new level, Zarastro is another really nice horse and then there's Transatlantic. 'I think we've got a lot of good horses for a lot of races but I just think this carnival, like I've seen the past two years, it's very hard to win races. 'You need everything to go your way on the day and hopefully that happens to a few of our horses in the carnival. 'It's going to be a strong six or seven weeks but we relish the challenge.' The Stradbroke Handicap is ratings-based so Transatlantic will need a ratings boost to get into the field or win a race that carries ballot exemption.
