The late Dean Holland had been booked to ride the Brent Stanley-trained Serenaur at Ballarat on Wednesday and following the tragic events at Donald on Monday, Stanley and connections have made the decision to donate all prizemoney received on Wednesday to Dean’s family.
Holland (34), had partnered the four-year-old gelded son of Star Turn at each of his last three starts for a win and two minor placings.
The two-time Group 1 winning jockey managed to bring up Serenaur’s first win since May 23, 2022 when providing a perfect ride inside of runners to run away to victory in a BM58 over 1400m at Ballarat on March 7.
Watch Serenaur’s win at Ballarat on March 7
Serenaur would go on to place in a Sandown BM64 with Holland in the saddle, before the pair were nosed out by Crackhorn at the Ballarat 1400m (BM64) when producing a strong finish from the rear of the field, on a day where it was hard to do such a thing.
Stanley’s runner will stay at the Ballarat 1400m in BM64 company on Wednesday, where he is a $3.70 favourite with online bookmakers.
In the hours after the fall, Brent Stanley reached out to ownership group Sona Thoroughbreds and the syndicate manager Kevin Pitstock to discuss ways of honouring Dean on the track.
Brent Stanley and Sona Thoroughbreds will donate all prizemoney that Serenaur accumulates on Wednesday to Holland’s family, with Stanley speaking highly of Holland and the experiences they shared on the track.
“I rode against Dean well before I became a trainer, so I have known him for an awful long time,” Stanley said.
“He’s always ridden for me since I started training 10 years ago.”
Stanley is yet to name a replacement ride for Serenaur at Ballarat, but there will be plenty of jockey’s hoping to lift Dean’s horse to victory.
“I put it towards Kevin, that could all the prizemoney be sent to his family”
When asked about Serenaur’s chances at Ballarat, Stanley kept it pretty simple.
“He has done nothing but train on good, loves the track, distance and drawn down low so he ticks a lot of boxes.”
A GoFundMe page has been set up by Tony Ottobre for Dean Holland’s family and has already surpassed $230,000 with a goal of $500,000.
The team at Horsebetting.com.au send our thoughts and prayers to the Holland family, to people such as Brent Stanley and the wider racing community in such a tricky time.
Dean Holland’s GoFundMe Page
Link: https://www.gofundme.com/f/lucy-holland-and-her-4-children
Ballarat Race 5
Race 5 – 
#3 Serenaur (3)
4yo Gelding | T: Brent Stanley | J: TBC (60.5kg)
$3.70 with Ladbrokes
