Tony Gollan says Jewel meeting should have been rescheduled on Friday night

Queensland trainer Tony Gollan isn’t delighted with a marathon day of 21 races across two metro meetings on Saturday, but Racing Queensland bosses say there is potential for a wagering uplift.

O'Ole winning the rescheduled Gold Coast Magic Millions in January during a twilight timeslot. Picture: Magic Millions (Facebook)

Champion trainer Tony Gollan believes racing officials should have copied the Gold Coast Magic Millions blueprint and rescheduled the rich QTIS Jewel meeting to Friday night rather than being part of a marathon Saturday schedule.

The original Magic Millions meeting in January was called off after several races due to a heavy downpour and the iconic event was rescheduled for the following Friday in a twilight/night card under lights.

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With ex-Cyclone Alfred creating havoc in the Sunshine State, last Saturday’s Gold Coast meeting featuring the $500,000 2YO and 3YO Jewel races has been rescheduled until this Saturday as a twilight meeting.

In an unprecedented situation, Eagle Farm will have an 11-race metropolitan day card on Saturday and the Gold Coast will have their 10 metropolitan races in a monster 21-race day.

Racing Queensland said the supercharged Saturday will provide a boost to wagering turnover in a time where there are industry challenges on the wagering front.

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Gollan said it has created major complexities – including splitting the jockey pool – and feels it would have been preferable to run the Jewel card as a Friday Gold Coast twilight meeting.

“I know it’s a tough situation and it’s hard to plan for these type of things, but I think it could have been handled better,” Gollan said.

“My opinion on it hasn’t changed, we had a pretty good blueprint there from a challenging Magic Millions carnival due to storms and track poisoning.

“We were able to think on our feet quite quickly and that showed with a little bit of co-operation, we all can co-exist and get things done.

“I can’t really understand why the Jewel meeting wouldn’t be run on the Friday night.

“There are now two metro meetings on the same day, where you split the pool of your riding talent to a degree.

Queensland trainer Tony Gollan says Friday night would have been a better option for the Jewel meeting. Picture: Grant Peters/Trackside Photography

“I think they should have given both events the proper spectacle they deserve, having proper metro events on separate days which could both be enjoyed rather than trying to run them on the same day.

“Maybe it’s going to be a betting bonanza, who knows?

“I guess it is locked and loaded now and we have to make do with what we have got, and we can judge it after the event.

“It’s certainly different, it’s something that’s never been done before that I know of.

“I just think Friday would have been a good option for the Jewel, we saw a really successful Magic Millions night under tough circumstances after a weather event.”

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Racing Queensland acting chief executive Lachlan Murray pointed to the wagering benefits of having two metropolitan Saturday meetings.

He indicated wagering turnover on the Jewel meeting could potentially have been almost halved if it had been run on Friday night rather than on Saturday.

“It’s been an extremely challenging start to the year for the Gold Coast Turf Club,” Murray said.

“Whilst we appreciate some trainers may have preferred us to reschedule the Jewel to under lights at the Gold Coast, it’s imperative that we also factor in the feedback from our clubs and the increase on turnover that will be materialised on Saturday.

Scenes at the original Gold Coast Magic Millions meeting in January which was called off after a heavy downpour. Picture: Greg Stolz

“Punters are habitual, and if we were to reschedule the Jewel to Friday night, we’d expect turnover to be close to halved.

“That was certainly the case during the Magic Millions, and with the wagering market continuing to tighten, it’s important that we’re making commercial decisions that benefit the entire industry.”

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There will be significant overlap between the Eagle Farm and Gold Coast cards on Saturday.

The first Eagle Farm race on Saturday is set to be raced at 10.28am with the last of 11 races scheduled for 4.27pm.

The first race at the Gold Coast Jewel meeting is slated for 2.49pm and the last of 10 races scheduled for 8.15pm.

Due to the high number of dually nominated horses between Eagle Farm and the Gold Coast on Saturday, the Eagle Farm Wednesday acceptance deadline has been delayed until 11am.

Originally published as Tony Gollan says Jewel meeting should have been rescheduled on Friday night