Tony Gollan galloper Transatlantic set to have Stradbroke Handicap hopes dashed by Queensland prizemoney rule

Tony Gollan looks set to have a Stradbroke Handicap contender stranded outside the field for a third straight year with Transatlantic unable to be re-handicapped for his win last Saturday.

Transatlantic looks likely to miss the Group 1 Stradbroke Handicap field. Picture: Trackside Photography

For the third successive year, Tony Gollan is resigned to missing the Stradbroke Handicap field with a horse he felt could have given Queensland’s greatest race a mighty shake.

Gollan narrowly missed qualifying Antino (2023) and Freedom Rally (2024) and both of those horses instead were deployed to win the Wayne Wilson Mile on Stradbroke day.

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It appears he is likely to be in the same boat with Transatlantic, who Queensland’s champion trainer has long felt is a hugely talented galloper capable of making a Stradbroke mark.

Bookmakers rate Transatlantic highly in Stradbroke markets, elevating the four-year-old gelding to be an $11 chance after his win in the Listed Spear Chief Handicap at Eagle Farm last Saturday.

However, it appears Transatlantic is likely to miss the Stradbroke and he is stuck at No.33 in the latest ballot order and outside the final 18-horse field even accounting for the attrition rate above him in the order.

There is a racing rule that means that Transatlantic wasn’t eligible for a Stradbroke weight penalty after his win in the Spear Chief.

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In Queensland, the conditions are that Transatlantic was able to be moved up the Stradbroke ballot order but could not be re-handicapped for last Saturday’s win.

He could have been potentially re-handicapped if he had won a race that offered $95,000 or more to the winner – but the Spear Chief first prizemoney was $92,000.

Transatlantic shows them how it's done in the Listed Spear Chief! 💪@tonygollan@[e-mail]/i9aP13Z728

— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) June 7, 2025

Gollan has been left disappointed as he feels Transatlantic, with Angela Jones booked to ride, could have given the Stradbroke a proper crack.

But he said “rules are rules”.

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“Every year, a horse seems to be left out of the Stradbroke that would have made it a better race,” Gollan said.

“But at the end of the day, rules are rules and I did have 12 months to try to qualify him for the Stradbroke.

“I knew things were probably stacked against me when he didn’t win The Gateway last December (which offered the winner a Stradbroke golden ticket).

“I guess even if he got a weight penalty from his win last weekend, he still wasn’t a certainty to make the field.”

With Transatlantic unlikely to get a run, Jones will ride three-year-old filly Spicy Martini, which qualified for the Stradbroke after winning the Fred Best Classic last Wednesday.

Meanwhile, connections of grand campaigner Front Page will fork out a whopping $90,000 late-entry fee to race in the Stradbroke Handicap.

Rising nine-year-old Front Page did not hold a nomination for the Stradbroke but won last Saturday’s Moreton Cup at Eagle Farm which offered a Stradbroke golden ticket.

Goulburn trainer Matt Dale said the owners of the gelding - who include original trainer Geoff Duryea - put the big Stradbroke decision to a vote on Monday afternoon.

Front Page will take his place in the Stradbroke Handicap with connections to pay the late-entry fee. Picture: Trackside Photography

Queensland jockey Damien Thornton has been booked for the Stradbroke assault, which is new territory for Front Page who has never won at 1400m before.

But bookmakers believe Front Page is a genuine shot at taking out the Stradbroke, rating him as an $11 chance on the third line of betting.

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Front Page is the only two-time winner of The Kosciuszko, scoring the rich Sydney race in successive years in 2022 and 2023.

Front Page has won more than $3.5m in his career and picked up $174,000 last Saturday for scoring the Moreton Cup.

The Stradbroke final field will be declared at 10am on Tuesday and fringe contenders will then know whether they have got a start or will be left outside the field and potentially slated as one of the five emergencies.

Lindsay Park sprinter War Machine is the $2.80 Stradbroke favourite and they also have the second pick in betting, Rise At Dawn ($8) who it is intended will back-up from finishing fifth behind Joliestar in last Saturday’s Group 1 Kingsford Smith Cup.

Rise At Dawn is currently outside the likely field in the ballot order but there are several above him who will not be acceptors on Tuesday.

On Monday, Rise At Dawn was not totally guaranteed a Stradbroke start but co-trainer Ben Hayes said there was no point worrying about it.

Originally published as Tony Gollan galloper Transatlantic set to have Stradbroke Handicap hopes dashed by Queensland prizemoney rule