Gollan readies his troops for the Magic Millions
Queensland’s leading trainer sends bumper team to Saturday’s Eagle Farm meeting
As busy as he is preparing Antino (Redwood) for his tilt at Sunday’s Hong Kong Mile (Gr 1, 1600m) at Sha Tin, Tony Gollan will be keeping a very keen eye on Saturday’s proceedings at Eagle Farm where he has an arsenal of runners including a pair of juveniles aiming to qualify for the $2 million Magic Millions 2YO Classic (RL, 1200m).
Antino will be the first runner Gollan has saddled up on foreign soil when he takes on the cream of Asia’s middle-distance talent, but back in Brisbane the stable will have no fewer than 14 gallopers in action on their home track as the sunshine state’s summer carnival clicks into gear.
With just over a month until the Magic Millions Raceday returns to the Gold Coast, Gollan is readying his troops for an assault on the ten-race card which now offers $14.5 million in prize–money.
Queensland’s leading trainer won the juvenile feature in 2023 when Skirt The Law (Better Than Ready) bloused her rivals, and he looks to have a leading contender for the 2025 renewal after Hi Barbie (I Am Invincible) scored an emotional victory for her owner Jennifer Acton in the Phelan Ready (Listed, 1110m) at Doomben last Saturday.
The filly was the first foal produced by multiple stakes winner Outback Barbie (Spirit Of Boom), and her full-brother will be in very high demand when he goes through the ring at the Bundall complex in January catalogued as Lot 755.
Hi Barbie, who was purchased by the wife of late cattle baron Alan Acton for $1.2 million at this year’s Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale, is virtually guaranteed a start in the 2YO Classic and another high-priced progeny of I Am Invincible (Invincible Spirit), the Yarraman Park-bred Lockyer, is vying to join his stablemate in the lucrative contest.
Named after one of Queensland’s favourite rugby league sons, Brisbane Broncos legend Darren Lockyer, the colt will step out for his second start in the opening race at Eagle Farm on Saturday. Following an encouraging debut effort at the same venue in early November, Lockyer continued his education with an impressive trial win which Gollan believes will have him ready to fire in the 1200-metre two-year-old handicap, for which he currently holds $2.15 favouritism.
“He got caught in an awkward spot on debut, so he did really well to finish second and I thought his performance at the trials was really professional,” said Gollan, who partnered with the Rosemont Alliance and Suman Hedge to pay $800,000 for the bay colt.
“The wide draw [barrier 11] won’t make things easy on Saturday, so I’ll have a chat with the team at Rosemont on Friday about what tactics we employ from out there. But I think he’ll be a very nice horse moving forward, and I’m sure he’ll be popular with punters given his name.”
Black Soil Bloodstock supremo Brian Siemsen may have split loyalties given the former NRL player has an involvement in both Lockyer and $4 second favourite Formula Rossa (Spirit Of Boom), a filly that he and his partners – including his bloodstock consultant John Foote – purchased for $340,000 at the Magic Millions.
The Eureka Stud-bred filly has her sights set on securing a second victory in the 2YO Classic for Black Soil, following Skirt The Law’s triumph in 2023. Formula Rossa performed creditably on debut with a valiant third on an unsuitably heavy surface at the Sunshine Coast, and Gollan is expecting her to show further improvement on Saturday – provided she can improve her race manners.
“I thought she was really good at the Sunny Coast, especially on the testing ground,” Gollan told ANZ Bloodstock News.
“She drifted back from the wide draw but she found the line really, really well. She got a bit lost in running and did plenty wrong, but the way she hit the line beautifully was very encouraging and if we can iron out some of those kinks, I think she’ll run really well again on Saturday.
“We’re obviously trying to get both horses into the Magic Millions Two-Year-Old Classic, so it’s probably not ideal that we’re running them in the same race on Saturday. But it looked like the most suitable option and provided we get good ground, especially for Lockyer, I would expect them both to be very competitive.”
We’re obviously trying to get both horses into the Magic Millions Two-Year-Old Classic, so it’s probably not ideal that we’re running them in the same race on Saturday. But it looked like the most suitable option and provided we get good ground, especially for Lockyer, I would expect them both to be very competitive
Gollan has enjoyed great success on Magic Millions Raceday, but the one major race that continues to elude the Toowoomba-born horseman – and the one he covets above all others – is the Stradbroke Handicap (Gr 1, 1400m).
Antino failed to fire as the favourite in Queensland’s pre-eminent Group 1 contest earlier this year, but Gollan is hoping to unearth an early contender for the 2025 renewal when he launches a three-pronged attack on Saturday’s marquee contest, The Gateway (1400m).
A golden ticket into the Stradbroke will be offered to the connections of the winner of the $250,000 feature and with Exceed Speed (Exceed And Excel) needing to show sharp improvement, Gollan believes his hopes lie predominantly with race favourite Transatlantic (Snitzel) and Torabella (Toronado), the four-year-old mare bred on Graham and Linda Huddy’s Peachester Lodge farm.
Transatlantic, a $360,000 purchase from the Segenhoe draft at the 2022 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale, stamped his class with a near five-length rout at the Sunshine Coast in mid-November. In-form jockey Angela Jones retains the ride and the pair will aim for the quickest route home after drawing the inside gate.
“He was terrific second-up over 1400 metres, which is his optimum trip,” said Gollan.
“He’s trained on beautifully since then so I can certainly see why he’s come up favourite in the race. He should get a beautiful run from the inside alley as long as he breaks cleanly, which he usually does, and he’s shown that he can handle a wet track if we do get any rain so there should be no excuses for him on Saturday.”
Torabella hunts a hat-trick of wins carrying the familiar colours of the Huddy family, who have built a great association with Gollan through the exploits of stakes winners Comrade Rosa (Capitalist) and Princess Rhaenys (Ifraaj), to name but two.
“Even though she won at Doomben last start, I thought she over-raced a little so I don’t mind the drop back to 1400 metres for her in The Gateway,” Gollan said of Torabella.
“The only real query with her is the ten-day turnaround, which she hasn’t done before. So that is a bit of a question mark, but she’s in great order so hopefully she can make it three in a row.”
The owner is based in Hong Kong so he was really keen to bring Antino here, and he’s travelled over beautifully and settled in really well. Everything’s gone right so far, and if he can run up to his Australian form there’s no doubt he’s right in the race
Gollan will then be hoping to round off the weekend by adding a first international Group 1 to the seven he has captured domestically.
Antino tackles 13 rivals in what shapes as a wide–open edition of the Hong Kong Mile, one of three Group 1 contests headlining the action at Sha Tin on Sunday.
“He was already pretty fit when he arrived, so we’ve just kept him ticking over with a couple of nice easy pieces of work on the grass,” Gollan said.
“It’s a great set-up at Sha Tin, the club can’t do enough for you so it’s been a great experience so far. If you’re going to take a horse overseas then Hong Kong is as good a place as anywhere.
“The owner is based in Hong Kong so he was really keen to bring Antino here, and he’s travelled over beautifully and settled in really well. Everything’s gone right so far, and if he can run up to his Australian form there’s no doubt he’s right in the race.”
