Tony Gollan scratching his head after blowout win by Cannonball in Falvelon at Eagle Farm

Tony Gollan stacked the Falvelon field with six runners but the trainer was lost for words when his two roughies fought out the finish.

Cannonball (green silks) edges out Oughton (left) and stablemate King Kapa (right) in the Falvelon. Picture: Grant Peters/Trackside Photography

Even after 11 straight training premierships, racing still found a way to puzzle Tony Gollan after a head scratching 40 minutes at Eagle Farm on Saturday.

Gollan’s well fancied Magic Millions hope Hi Barbie ran second last in the BJ McLachlan Stakes after suffering atrial fibrillation and then he watched his two stable stars Hidden Wealth and Zarastro lock horns in the Listed Falvelon in the next race and fail to fire a shot, while his $41 roughie Cannonball delivered a knockout result.

It capped a remarkable trip to Queensland for Cannonball, who campaigned at Royal Ascot for his former trainers Peter and Paul Snowden last year, but now finds himself under Gollan’s care as his owners chase Magic Millions riches.

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Gollan saddled up Hidden Wealth ($2), Zarastro ($4), All That Pizzazz ($23) and Nettuno ($26), however it was his two roughies in Cannonball ($41) and King Kapa ($51) who were fighting it out in the finish to deliver a knockout punch for punters and left the trainer almost lost for words.

“What a game … It has been an emotional last hour,” Gollan laughed.

“The filly (Hi Barbie) got atrial fib in the two-year-old race, so that was the first uppercut.

“Then there was a bit more going on (in the Falvelon), it was a busier race than what I expected.

“That is what these good sprint races do, there are a lot of fast, sharp horses and you get busy finishes.”

Cannonball at $41 wins the Falvelon! 🤯#RichosRoughies goes bang! 💰@tonygollanpic.twitter.com/89aVkOvYNW

— 7HorseRacing 🐎 (@7horseracing) December 21, 2024

Jockey Martin Harley stalked the speed aboard Cannonball while the carnage unfolded in front of him and delivered a booming finish down the outside.

“(Owner) James Harron rang me about Cannonball a little while ago and wanted to see if I would take him if they gelded him to get him into some form.

“They wanted to get him to the Magic Millions Sprint, if they thought enough of him to get him to Royal Ascot, I thought we should be able to get him to the Gold Coast.

“When James sent him to me, I asked him how wet can it be and still run him, he said ‘Good 4’, so he clearly likes good ground.

“I was pleased to see how the Gold Coast raced (on Friday night), some of our horses raced really well and will relish it.”

After racing wide with 61kg, fan favourite Rothfire looked set to fight out the finish before knocking up late to finish sixth, only beaten 2¼ lengths.

Bayliss makes Golden return

Sydney-based Queenslander Regan Bayliss made a Christmas return to the Sunshine State and made an immediate impact with a tough-as-teak performance in the Listed Members Mile at Eagle Farm on Saturday.

Bayliss hails from Ipswich, but has made his name down south, but relished his return to Brisbane when he partnered with Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott aboard Gold Bullion, who looked all at sea a furlong from home before knuckling down to hold off a charging Junipal.

Fellow Sydneysider Jason Collett looked to have Bayliss’ measure, but he was able to dig deep to grab the prize in his first Queensland start since running last in the Group 1 Queensland Derby in the winter.

“It’s always good to come home and ride here,” Bayliss said.

“He was only second up today, he will be much better over 1800m next start (in The Wave at the Gold Coast).”

Gold Bullion too tough and can't be run down! 😤@[e-mail]/ro7m7PJgtv

— 7HorseRacing 🐎 (@7horseracing) December 21, 2024

Meanwhile, Bezique is on her way to the $1m Magic Millions Syndicate race in a fortnight’s time after a dominant performance in the Class 6 Handicap (1000m).

Trainer Tony Gollan has been forced to play the long game with the mare, who was balloted out of a stakes race a fortnight ago, but it paid dividends when jockey Emily Lang delivered a textbook ride on Saturday.

“She was an emergency in the race Zarastro and Golden Boom ran one-two in the other week (Bribie Handicap) and she would have made her presence felt in that,” Gollan said.

“We were desperate to get her to the races today, this race suited so well and with Emily’s claim, it was a no-brainer.

“She is pretty well right up to the mark, she has to be if she is going around in a million dollar race in a fortnight’s time.

“She has done everything but win a stakes race, she has been second a few times, so we are really looking forward to getting her to the Gold Coast, because last year she just ran out of legs late in the prep.”

Originally published as Tony Gollan scratching his head after blowout win by Cannonball in Falvelon at Eagle Farm