Gollan tipping much better Move on show
Right track to bounce back from ‘awful’ run
QUEENSLAND speedster The Move came back from Victoria with his tail between his legs as one of the few Sunshine State horses not to fire in the spring carnival, but that shouldn’t deter punters’ confidence at the Gold Coast on Saturday, his trainer says.
The Tony Gollan-trained sprinter was beaten out of sight by fellow Queenslander Shooting For Gold at Caulfield three weeks ago but there is cause for optimism when he returns to a happy hunting ground.
The master trainer feels his performance was too bad to be true and says he has been freshened up by the trip home, where he will look to defend his crown in the $100,000 Open Handicap (900m) on Pink Ribbon Cup Day.
“He just went awful down there,” Gollan said of his run in The Heath (1100m). “His work had been very good going into it but he did face a soft track that day, which doesn’t suit him. He jumped out quite good and got into a position but then he was under pressure a long way from home.
“He pulled up very sore, so his back legs might have slipped when he jumped, that’s what Daniel Moore thought possibly, because it was a head scratcher.
“We treated him there for that and brought him straight back home, gave him a week off and he has only had a short amount of time back in the stables.”
Gollan concedes the poor run may have dented The Move’s confidence, but believes Saturday’s race should pan out for him perfectly, with stablemate Le Palmier set to put the handlebars down over the 900m scamper.
“Everything is tailormade for him on Saturday,” he said.
“He is very fit and he worked really nice on Tuesday so I can’t fault him. It worries me that his confidence might have been dented. But this is the right race to get that back because his work on Tuesday suggested he is right in this.
“Le Palmier is fast, if he steps well I think he will be the leader, The Move should sit in second, third or fourth.”
It marks a huge day for Gollan, who also has top mare Isotope running in the Group 3 How Now Stakes at Caulfield, along with eight runners on the Gold Coast.