Tony Gollan pair Freedom Rally and Golden Boom on Group 1 Melbourne missions

Champion Queensland trainer Tony Gollan will attempt to add to his haul of seven Group 1s when he deploys two horses on separate Group 1 missions in Melbourne in coming weeks.

Emboldened by Group 1 success in Melbourne last spring, champion Queensland trainer Tony Gollan has set a pair of his marquee horses for Group 1 assignments there in coming weeks.

Freedom Rally and sharp sprinter Golden Boom may not have the profile of Gollan’s headline horse Antino which won the Group 1 Toorak Handicap last spring and ventured to Hong Kong in December.

But both are million-dollar earners and Gollan will set them Group 1 tasks in Melbourne.

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Freedom Rally will be deployed in the Group 1 CF Orr Stakes (1400m) on Saturday week while Golden Boom will attack the Group 1 Oakleigh Plate (1100m) on February 22.

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The Oakleigh Plate has often been a good race for Queenslanders, including two years ago when it was won by Uncommon James.

Golden Boom, which led from start to finish in the Listed Goldmarket on the Gold Coast last Friday night, has ventured to Melbourne before when finishing a narrow runner-up in a Listed race at The Valley last August.

But it is Freedom Rally which will first be seen in Melbourne.

Golden Boom (blue and white colours) wins the Bribie Handicap at Eagle Farm Picture: Grant Peters/Trackside Photography

Freedom Rally ran a bottler in the Group 1 Kingsford Smith Cup during last year’s Queensland winter carnival, beaten less than three lengths by Bella Nipotina, and was last seen finishing a narrow second in the $2m Five Diamonds during the Sydney spring carnival.

The five-year-old gelding has headed south and earlier this week tuned up for a return to racing when finishing third behind Another Wil in a 1200m jumpout at Cranbourne.

Seven-time Group 1 winning trainer Gollan said Freedom Rally will contest the Orr Stakes and it is also hoped he can score a ticket into the $2.5m All-Star Mile the following month at Flemington.

“He jumped out pretty well earlier in the week, he just felt the pinch late,” Gollan said.

“But he has had a busy time, he trialled at Doomben really well and then he had to travel from Brisbane down to Melbourne.

“It’s all happened quite quickly and now I’ve got a really nice bit of time before the Orr on Saturday week.

Top Queensland trainer Tony Gollan Picture: Grant Peters/Trackside Photography

“I am setting him a pretty hard task, in a big race like that, but the dream of the preparation would be to have a look at a race like the All-Star Mile for him.

“Whether he gets to that level, who knows?

“But he has always been such a progressive horse and the owner was pretty keen to try him at this level.

“We can always drop back a level if we need to, there are options to divert him to Sydney and there are options to back off him with the winter carnival in mind.

“But we will have the Orr as a starting point.”

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It comes as Antino, last year’s Group 1 Toorak Handicap champion, returned to Gollan’s Eagle Farm stables after some time in pre-training after he raced in Hong Kong last December.

Antino’s 2025 racing missions have not been entirely set in stone but Gollan has pencilled in the Group 1 Doomben Cup (2000m) as a winter carnival goal.

“Antino came back into the stable today which is great, I have really been looking forward to getting him back,” Gollan said.

“He has done a bit of pre-training at Embrook so he has now come back into my stables to build his preparation up.”

Originally published as Tony Gollan pair Freedom Rally and Golden Boom on Group 1 Melbourne missions