Stradbroke to stardom: Gollan’s Transatlantic leads Five Diamonds charge

The Stradbroke has become somewhat of barometer of the best horse in Tony Gollan’s stable in the past three years.

The only problem for Brisbane’s premier trainer is that he can’t get his best into Queensland’s biggest race.

Think Antino, Freedom Rally and now Transatlantic, which made the Stradbroke field after a scratching this year.

“It’s a race I start thinking about now to find the right horse,” Gollan said of the Stradbroke.

“You have to have a quality horse and you need to beat the handicapper.”

“We have the right horses for the past couple of years but haven’t got them in the field because are trying to get in with the right weight.”

Gollan makes sure there is plenty left in his Stradbroke choices and they have made a habit of stepping up.

Antino turned into one of the best horses in the country with his wins in the Toorak Handicap and Doomben Cup in subsequent years, and Transatlantic followed his lead by winning this year’s Toorak.

However, Gollan had always planned to run the Toorak winner in Saturday’s Five Diamonds at Rosehill and learned from Antino how to set up the program.

“This is not an afterthought,” Gollan said. “We targeted the Toorak and then came up for the $1 million prelude and $2 million in the Five Diamonds, the money is too good to turn down.”

“With Antino, I kept him in Melbourne, and he didn’t run well in the Five Diamonds because we had a few problems with him.”

“Once you have the Group 1, there is no use keeping a horse like Transatlantic down there because he just has to keep stepping.”

“If he was in Melbourne, he would be in the Champions Mile, that’s a proper race. He runs here as favourite and is not badly suited by the conditions of the race.”

So Gollan has his cake and is looking to add the cream in Five Diamonds.

Transatlantic carries the number one saddlecloth and the Group 1 winner’s penalty, but going on his prelude win, he has a bit of class on his rivals.

The Toorak, which Transatlantic dominated from the front, is shaping as one of the form races of the spring with the two Golden Eagle placegetters left in his wake, along with Leica Lucy, which was runner-up to Pride Of Jenni in the Empire Rose Stakes.

“The form reads really well and I couldn’t be happier with him,” Gollan said. “Extending out to the 1800m is a bit of a test for him, but he has always seemed like a horse that would enjoy the extra trip.”

“We have drawn out wide, but hopefully he can get across and roll along and if he gets the trip he is going to be one to beat.”