Gollan eyes new jockey

TRAINER Tony Gollan will have to find a new rider for Most Important in the Group 1 Stradbroke Handicap after Jim Byrne elected to go with the other Brisbane hope Crack Me Up.

Gollan said there were several options on the table for a replacement rider for Byrne.

“I just want to see how the final field is firming up before I get a replacement. There will be a few top riders about without mounts. I hope to make up my mind on Monday,” Gollan said.

Crack Me Up is back with Liam Birchley at Eagle Farm after a short stint with Bjorn Baker in Sydney where he won the Liverpool Cup.

Birchley is training on a stay from a one-year disqualification imposed in Victoria but Crack Me Up has been returned to him for the winter.