Brisbane trainer Tony Gollan has sent Boomtown Boss south in a bid to get the talented gelding out of his comfort zone ahead of a first-up tilt at the Aurie’s Star Handicap at Flemington on Saturday.
The Group 3 Aurie’s Star Handicap (1200m) could prove the launchpad for an extended Melbourne campaign, or it may simply serve as a stepping stone before a return home to prepare for the Queensland Summer Carnival.
Gollan is banking on the residual fitness gained during the Brisbane Winter Carnival to give Boomtown Boss every opportunity to perform well at his first attempt down Flemington’s famous straight course.
“I was having a preparation with him in the winter that started off well and then I really just ran out of luck with him,” Gollan said.
“I decided to abort it and it’s a long time to our summer.
“He’s a horse that I think a bit of travel will bring him on quite a lot. He’s a very busy horse at home and very comfortable in his own environment and I’ve noticed with a few of the horses that are like him, if you can get them away and get them into a new area, it brings them on mentally and that’s what I feel like I can do with this bloke.
“On his best form he is up to a race like this, as you can see by his runs during the winter, and I just thought travelling him would be ideal for him.”
Gollan does not believe the straight track will pose any issues for Boomtown Boss.
He said the sprinter is ideally suited to spacious tracks over 1300m or 1400m and believes Flemington’s straight 1200m will play to those strengths.
“He’s a horse that likes a bit of room, that can get into his gallop and unleash a good turn of foot,” Gollan said.
“Without him being down the straight, and it being an unknown, he probably profiles well enough from what we’ve seen on big tracks like Eagle Farm, to really enjoy the straight.
“I’ve had him down in Melbourne for a while and got him into Ciaron’s (Maher) stable at Cranbourne and the longer he’s been there, the more he’s picked up.
“He had a trial at Caulfield Heath the other day to give him some more experience on his Melbourne leg and the horse seems to be really thriving.
“We know the residual fitness of the winter carnival up here carries over in the early stages of the carnival down there.”
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Gollan said no firm plans had been made beyond Saturday, with Boomtown Boss’s performance to determine whether he remains in Melbourne or heads back to Queensland.
“It’s a run at a time and it’s more about the experience of him being away,” Gollan said.
“Hopefully he runs really well, as we expect, and maybe we could look to go to another race, but we could also bring him home for the summer.
“It really is a week-by-week thing for the horse.”
Former Melbourne-based jockey Daniel Moor, who regularly rides work for Gollan in Brisbane, has been booked to partner Boomtown Boss.
A total of 14 horses have been entered for the Aurie’s Star Handicap, with final acceptances due on Wednesday morning.
