A week off for Antino … with sights now firmly set on the Hong Kong Mile.
Tony Gollan’s faith in Antino’s superior ability has never wavered and the son of Redwood’s extraordinary win in the Toorak Handicap, when securing his maiden Group 1 victory, only cemented Gollan’s view that Antino is the best horse he has trained.
Antino’s Toorak effort … that early power surge from last to first, under a mighty Blake Shinn vision, with that concentrated gallop then being sustained all the way to the line in such a forceful fashion that it left his opposition floundering in disarray … will not only go down as one of the wins of the season, but it also provided the final, positive piece of evidence … a rubber stamp if you like … of Antino’s right to be able to target international success, with Gollan now firmly setting the sights on Hong Kong in December.
“He’s pulled up really well,” said Gollan. “We vaccinated him on Monday and he is having a week of recovery this week … with the water walker and a grass paddock. His temps have been fine, and he hasn’t missed a beat.
“The challenge now to get him near his ratings peak for his next two runs. I may not get that peak again, but I need to get him something near that.
‘His next run will be in the Champions Mile at Flemington (on November 9) … and then, hopefully, its onwards and upwards to the Hong Kong Mile at Sha Tin (on December 8)
“I’ve said he is the best horse I have trained,” continued Gollan. “I’ve said that for some time, and I’ll stand by that.
“That (the Toorak run) is sort of what he does. He sustains a long run. He hasn’t got the sharpest turn of foot or, as far horses I’ve trained go, he is not the fastest horse … but he can sustain a gallop longer than any horse I have ever trained. That’s his key attribute.”
While Antino does tend to hesitate at the start, Gollan doesn’t find that trait to be too significant a disadvantage.
“That might be he is just telling us how to ride him, maybe,” said Gollan.
“I think he likes to find his feet and build his run and, as we have seen, he is superb at doing that.
“I remember, like it was yesterday, when he won only a BM72 Handicap at Eagle Farm back in December 2022 … just how he won it, how he did it, how he could sustain that sort of gallop … that’s when, to me, I knew he was special.”
Antino’s climb from that BM72 win nearly two years ago, to his planned participation in the HK$36 million Longines Hong Kong International Mile … well, there can be no better example of Gollan’s strong, early opinion of Antino being vindicated and of the horse’s readiness to play his role.
It will be a case of first things first though … and Antino’s assignment in the $3 million Champions Mile at Flemington awaits … but, all being well beyond that, how good will be for Australia, in general, and for Queensland, in particular, to have another runner lining up on the international stage.
Antino, a six-year-old, is currently an eleven-time winner from twenty-one starts with five minor placings and he has banked $1 668 865 in prize-money.