While Antino and his upcoming international assignment in Hong Kong will garner most of the media attention with regard to the Tony Gollan stable in the coming weeks, there could well be an ‘understudy’ in waiting … a possible emerging stable star who could be heading for bigger things in 2025.
A third place finish in the $1 million Five Diamonds Prelude followed by a runner-up finish in the $2 million Five Diamonds itself … that is the recent race record of the Tony Gollan trained Freedom Rally.
Those two results alone put $476 000 in Freedom Rally’s prize-money account, which was enough to take the five-year-old’s earnings through the $1 million barrier, courtesy of seven wins and six minor placings from twenty starts … which means that, while there was no cigar, there was plenty of consolation comfort in those two defeats … and the stable arguably has another particularly interesting reason to be upbeat moving forward, as Gollan pointed out.
“You have a look at his record, he nearly mirrors a young Antino. Where he was this winter … it was deja vu of where Antino was the winter before,” said Gollan.
“I’m not saying he is exactly like Antino, but his record certainly mirrors him at that stage.
By the end of last winter Antino had raced nine times for seven wins. Freedom Rally has raced six times for four wins (a 77 percent to 66 precent winning strike rate) … statistics which clearly show two horses on the move.
The six-year-old Antino, who is a year older than Freedom Rally, is the current star of the Gollan stable. A Group 1 winner two starts back in the Toorak Handicap, Antino finished second to Mr Brightside in the Champions Mile at Flemington last Saturday … beaten less than half-a-length at level weights … with the likes of Fangiril, Steffi Magnetic and Amelia’s Jewel all finishing behind him.
With a fifty-precent strike rate (11 wins from 22 starts) and with over $2 million banked in prize-money, Antino will now head to Hong Kong to take on an exciting international challenge, an opportunity he richly deserves.
While Gollan was not going that far with any assessment of Freedom Rally, his mere reference to the similarities between Freedom Rally and Antino translates into a mark of respect that Gollan has for the Five Diamonds runner-up and the optimism he has for the horse moving forward.
“They are very similar horses. They are really nice geldings to train. They handle travel well. Each time they have gone away they have come back better … and that is what Freedom Rally will do next time around,” said Gollan.
“His last two runs showed what he is about. We were really happy with him going into the Prelude and he rewarded us with a fantastic run. Then he went into the Diamonds where he was a big price ($20 into $15).
“I couldn’t work out why because I thought his Prelude run was terrific. Tommy (Berry) and I went there on Saturday brimming with confidence that we would run a really good race … and we did. We were all but the winner. Maybe if there was a bit more pressure on in the race we might be here talking about a different story.
“So, we do have options. I’ll be taking him away in the Autumn. This time probably to Melbourne at this stage, although that’s not set in stone yet.
“I think he is a really good miler who can stretch out a bit further and I plan on having a very busy 2025 with him.”
