Gollan’s Baller can rock Sydney
Baller’s pair of summer runs have both ended out of the placings in fourth, but champion Queensland trainer Tony Gollan says both efforts have been great and the evergreen sprinter is primed to give Sydney a big shake on Saturday.
Eight-year-old Baller has been to plenty of big dances in his career and he now returns to where it all started.
The $1.3m earner – who has generally raced in elite company inc lud ing when running third in the Group 1 Champions Sprint at Flemington in 2022 – started his racing career in Sydney in 2018 when trained by Anthony and Edward Cummings.
He has been with Gollan since 2021 but he has not raced in Sydney while in Gollan’s care. That changes on Saturday when he contests the Group 3 Southern Cross Stakes (1200m) at Rosehill, ridden by Nash Rawiller.
Baller is rated an $8 chance but Gollan is convinced he is a better hope than what the bookmakers have priced him.
Gollan’s galloper last raced on Magic Millions day, finishing just out of the placings behind King Of Sparta in the $1m Magic Millions Snippets.
Before that, he resumed with a big effort in the George Moore Stakes at Doomben when starting from a wide gate and finishing not too far off the likes of Zoustyle and Rothfire.
“His first-up run was brilliant off a bad gate, that form is surely good enough to run very well in this race on Saturday,” Gollan said. “He goes into this three weeks since his last run, Nash Rawiller on board and in a small field.
“He is over the odds, for sure. “He will have to give them a start, but I think he will race really well.”