Leading Brisbane trainer Tony Gollan admits he still doesn’t know just how good his winning machine Antino really is.
The son of Redwood easily won on debut when he was trained by Adam Campton, before he was transferred to Gollan’s stable and has since claimed another seven victories.
Saturday’s meeting at Flemington will be Antino’s first test away from Queensland when he takes his place in The Sofitel at Listed level over 1400m.
“He’s pretty untapped, he’s got a fair bit of upside to him and he’s nowhere near his best either Saturday, he’s got good improvement in him out of the weekend,” Gollan said.
“We’ll get a bit of an idea where he’s at against southern horses on the weekend but there’s good improvement to come and I don’t really know how good he is yet, I’m nowhere near the surface of him, I don’t think.”
Antino has been in Melbourne for two weeks now and has been allocated 59.5kg for his first-up assignment, something that came as a bit of a surprise for his trainer.
“The weight’s a little bit off-putting for us but other than that, I’m really happy with the way he’s settled in, he’s a lovely, relaxed animal and I was always confident his first trip away, he would settle in well,” Gollan said.
Gollan explained that it was Antino’s will to win that has stood him in good stead so far in his career.
“He’s won eight from nine, so that tells you he’s a winner,” he said.
“He’s able to overcome adversity several different times in his racing career to win races, whether it be ridden out of his comfort zone or being able to sustain a long run or what not, he just seems to be able to find ways to win when other horses that I’ve previously trained would’ve got beat.”
Beyond Saturday, Gollan has his sights set on Group One glory with Antino in Melbourne this spring.
“I’d love to head towards the Toorak with him, hence why we put this race in the plan for him, to head from here to Sandown and then from Sandown to the Toorak, they’re probably the three runs that we had in mind for him, so that’s probably where he’s at, at the moment,” he said.
“Whether we go further than that or not just will just all depend on where we are after that point in time.”
Bred by Blossom Trading & Breeding Company Ltd, Antino is by Westbury Stud stallion Redwood, sire of New Zealand Horse of the Year Sharp ‘N’ Smart.
Out of a full sister to Group One gallopers Hurrah and Best Gift, Antino was purchased for $27,000 by Jeetu Ramchandani’s New Balance Racing at the 2020 New Zealand Bloodstock Ready to Run Sale from the draft of Cheltenham Stables.
