Gollan shrugs off draw

THE sight of barrier 18 in a major race is usually enough to see most trainers reaching for the smelling salts but Tony Gollan feels it won’t stop Ef Troop winning the Magic Millions 2YO Classic.

Ef Troop drew 18 but will jump from barrier 13 if the emergencies don’t gain a start.

Gollan said it was more important for his other runner, Outback Barbie, to draw inside than it was for the flying Ef Troop.

“I’m not on the ground or flattened by the draw. I don’t think it’s a big deal for him.

“He’s a bowling, go-forward horse,” Queensland’s premier trainer said.

“I’m not saying it’s not important for him because there might be something in there that might want to really make him work.

“That could be the case but he’s a high-speed horse with a big clean action and sometimes they’re better drawn out a little bit where they can get into their stride without the pressure of drawing up underneath where things are trying to get across and cut you off.

“If he shows his speed, I’m not sure there’s anything as fast as him. You don’t know that for certain and that’s part of the intrigue for this race.

“His racing pattern won’t change from what we’ve seen. He will obviously be out there to run 1200m quite quickly and it will be what it will be.

“I guess we will know on Saturday after they’ve gone a furlong how good or bad the draw has been.”

Gollan feels Ef Troop can improve further on his two Doomben wins to date.

“He will stretch his legs a bit (today) at Doomben, then have an easy time for the rest of the week and get to the Gold Coast hopefully in better shape than what we’ve seen in his previous two runs,” he said.

“The most important thing for me is to get the horse to the race in the best condition I can and I’m very happy with the preparation he’s had up.”

Gollan has maintained for some time that Outback Barbie is sneaking under the radar and is confident the filly can run a big race, particularly after coming up with gate six.

Ef Troop drifted to $4 from $3.40 in the UBET market after the barrier draw but is still favourite ahead of Sunlight ($4.20) and Jonker ($4.50).