Tony Gollan calls on veterans

Premier Brisbane trainer Tony Gollan has called on the stable’s veterans as he bids to repeat last year’s domination of Queensland’s summer feature races.

Gollan, who won 10 feature races last summer, has had a relatively low key start to the season, trailing Robert Heathcote on the Brisbane trainers’ premiership with 26 winners.

But he hopes the summer will bring him enough success to reel in the lead.

Gollan was in New Zealand this week at the breeze-up sales as he moves to restock his team, especially as he now has a satellite stable in Sydney.

He will have three runners in the first of the summer features, the Listed Keith Noud Quality at Eagle Farm on Saturday with eight-year-olds Didntcostalot and Rocket to Glory and four-year-old Most Important.

Gollan nominated four horses for the Keith Noud but elected to send Whiskey Allround to Rosehill in Sydney on Saturday.

He said the Brisbane summer carnival was looming as super tough with horses coming from interstate.

“It would be nice to think we could repeat last year but a couple of my horses are that year older and getting up in the weights,” he sad.

“But all three are fit and I would expect them to be competitive on Saturday.

“Things started to change for the better when Frespanol won the open handicap at the Sunshine Coast on Wednesday and he will also be a player this summer.”

Jim Byrne, who rode four winners at the Sunshine Coast on Wednesday, has been booked to ride the Gollan-trained Tiyatraloni in the Fillies Three-Year Old (1000m).

“Not much went right for Tegan (Harrison) when she rode Tiyatraloni last start so we will see how we go with Jim,” Gollan said.

He did not accept with promising gelding Il Riccio in the colts and geldings division of the three-year-old race.

Il Riccio won his first start at Ipswich by 10 lengths in course record time but then finished last at Rosehill in Sydney two weeks ago.

Gollan said Il Riccio had struck his head in the tie-up stalls before the race and probably shouldn’t have started.

“He is a lot better than that and he will head back to Brisbane to race on Saturday week,” Gollan said.