Gollan’s Stable Newcomer Wins Gai Waterhouse Classic

Date: 24-Jun-2024

The powerhouse Tony Gollan stable had a strong hand in this year’s Listed Gai Waterhouse Classic with five mares facing the starter.

While Bezique and Typhoon Taavi were considered the team’s better chances, it was newcomer to the barn Wollombi that would create a massive impression by winning the black-type race.

Wollombi was having her first start for Gollan after being purchased by Yulong Investments at the Magic Millions Broodmare Sale in May.

“I have to thank the team at Yulong who purchased Wollombi at the Magic Millions Broodmare Sale,” Gollan said.

“We were very fortunate that she found her way to my yard.

“I want to also thank Peter Snowden, who trained her before me, for his advice.

“We’ve only had her a few weeks, but I did love the way she mapped in the second half of the field as I knew she’d be strong late.

“I’ve watched a lot of her replays down south and she really suited a race like this.

“I wasn’t sure where I was at with her a couple of weeks ago and she had to make up a lot of ground quickly, but she made it up the last ten days nicely.

We came here quietly confident in her first run for the stable.”

The win capped a massive day for jockey Vlad Duric, and he was full of praise for the Extreme Choice mare.

“They went very quick, and I settled further back than Tony and I planned but I got a suck up run,” Duric noted.

“Once I got out, she just exploded for me.

“It was a very impressive win.”

Duric starred on the day with a treble after winning earlier in the day aboard Victorian Hedged in the T L Cooney and on another of Gollan’s horses, Rockribbed in the 1200m Benchmark 78 Handicap.

The multiple Group 1 winning jockey has hit the ground running since arriving in Brisbane from Singapore but was kicking cans after Antino’s disappointing effort in last week’s Stradbroke Handicap.

“I appreciate the support from Tony,” Duric said.

“We had a bit of a bad time last weekend but hopefully this makes up for it a little bit.”

By Craig Sheppard

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