Champion trainer Tony Gollan’s relentless quest for winners, winners and more winners already has his stable with nearly three times the amount of winners ahead of his nearest rival in the Brisbane training ranks … and that is after only two weeks of the new season.
For a long time now … Gollan has won the last thirteen Brisbane Trainers’ Premiership on the trot … the Premiership winner has never been in question and that scenario will, barring an unforeseen catastrophe, remain the state of play for the 2026/27 season, but a Gollan stable resource which is seldom fully talked about, has again already proved to be an invaluable asset for the top stable, as was so clearly in evidence at Doomben on Saturday where Gollan saddled four winners.
Those four winners were ridden by four different jockeys … Chelsea Baker, Ben Thompson, Emily Lang and Bella Youngberry. You can add Daniel Moor, Leah Matrtyn and Jimmy Orman to the list of jockeys that have contributed to Gollan’s eleven winners so far this season … a solid mix of senior riders and apprentices which gives Gollan such a strong pool of riders in waiting, which opens up the jockey bookings option very nicely … and that is without even mentioning the likes of Ryan Maloney who enjoys great success with the Gollan camp.
It is a big stable privilege of course … and Gollan is not alone in that … but, while the often mentioned high stable numbers and quality of runners obviously does play a huge part in ramping up success, the person who sits on the back of the horse on race-day still has to deliver the level of ride required to get a winner home. Those looking for the best horse racing betting sites have already seen the Gollan stable establish a dominant early-season strike rate.
Seven different jockeys for eleven metropolitan stable winners! That is a bit unusual.
The obvious question to ask Gollan then is … is there an easy way to explain how he shuffles his jockey roster to settle on individual riders for particular runners?
“Not really,” replied Gollan … before going through a quick checklist.
“Weights … whether we are claiming or not claiming … riders who have ridden the horse previously,” said Gollan.
‘We’ve got a good bunch of jockeys who want to work for us so we can share the rides around on a competency based strategy per horse.
“It’s working well.”
No arguments there.
