Tony Gollan galloper Transatlantic to resume in The Archer with Group 1 Stradbroke Handicap the target

Tony Gollan would love to give promising Transatlantic a shot at the Group 1 Stradbroke Handicap and will kick him off in a $1m slot race in regional Queensland.

Transatlantic will resume in The Archer slot race next month on his way to the Stradbroke Handicap. Picture: Grant Peters/Trackside Photography

After narrowly missing the Stradbroke Handicap field with a talented pair in the last two years, Tony Gollan has set his sights on a rich regional slot race to kick off a winter carnival campaign for one of his most exciting gallopers.

Gollan is extremely keen to get four-year-old Transatlantic to the Group 1 Stradbroke and some corporate bookmakers rate him so highly that he is as short as $11 in early Stradbroke betting markets.

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Gollan missed a Stradbroke start with Antino in 2023 and Freedom Rally in 2024 – when both didn’t make the field – and doesn’t want to suffer the same fate with Transatlantic.

With Transatlantic needing a ratings bump to come into Stradbroke calculations, Gollan will send him north for the $1m The Archer slot race over 1300m at Rockhampton on May 4.

The Archer doesn’t offer the winner a golden ticket into the Stradbroke, despite that being spruiked at one point last year.

But Gollan feels the race is the perfect winter carnival kick-off point for Transatlantic, who was last seen scoring the $300,000 The Buffering at Eagle Farm during the summer carnival.

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Transatlantic is set to race in The Archer slot owned by Jennifer Acton, the widow of late central Queensland cattle baron and racehorse owner Alan who died in a helicopter accident in 2023.

“My grand plan for this horse would be to get him into the Stradbroke,” Gollan said.

Transatlantic dominates his rivals in The Buffering. Picture: Grant Peters/Trackside Photography

“We have been unfortunate the previous two years with good horses not getting into it, firstly Antino and then Freedom Rally.

“Transatlantic is probably on the same trajectory.

“I feel The Archer is a good option to kick him off for his winter campaign.

“We have kicked him off previously at 1200(m) but he has just found that distance a little bit sharp for him.

“We need a ratings boost and we probably need to win a ballot free race during the winter to get into the Stradbroke.”

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Meanwhile, Matt Dunn is set to deploy $1.1m earner Boom Torque in The Archer.

At his best, Boom Torque has a powerful finish and Dunn is also chasing a ratings boost for Boom Torque with Stradbroke dreams in mind.

“Hopefully if he can win The Archer, he will get a good ratings bump,” Dunn said.

“I just think the timing is right, 1300(m) first-up, on what is normally a dry track up there.

“He was in work for a long time last campaign, but he looks fantastic and very sharp.”

■ Gollan’s Group 1 star Antino will trial in Brisbane next week after the wet weather deluge in southeast Queensland in recent times saw him not able to have a jumpout.

But Gollan isn’t concerned and said Antino is in fine fettle, pleasing the champion trainer this week as he worked with Transatlantic in a piece of course proper work.

The Group 1 All Aged Stakes (1400m) at Randwick on April 19 remains the likely kick-off point for Antino.

Originally published as Tony Gollan galloper Transatlantic to resume in The Archer with Group 1 Stradbroke Handicap the target