Ben Currie puts Honey Toast to the test against big guns in Hollindale Stakes

TOOWOOMBA trainer Ben Currie can’t wait to take on racing royalty and blue bloods when he proudly flies the Queensland flag in Saturday’s Hollindale Stakes.

Ben Currie hopes Honey Toast’s fitness will give him an edge in the Hollindale Stakes on Saturday. Picture: Grant Peters

TOOWOOMBA trainer Ben Currie can’t wait to take on racing royalty and blue bloods when he proudly flies the Queensland flag in Saturday’s Hollindale Stakes on the Gold Coast.

Currie will have Toowoomba Cup winner Honey Toast in the Group 2 Hollindale, which will feature many of the biggest names in Australian racing.

Sydney’s premier trainer Chris Waller has eight of the 21 Hollindale nominations and John O’Shea, the trainer in charge of the Australian arm of Sheikh Mohammed’s international racing empire, Godolphin, has two.

Then throw in racing’s first lady Gai Waterhouse, with Excess Knowledge, and big-name Victorian and New Zealand trainers such as Darren Weir and Murray Baker.

However, Currie reckons Honey Toast has a few things in his favour as he tries to repel the first big southern invasion of the Winter Carnival.

Firstly, there is recent history with a Toowoomba Cup winner going onto bigger and better things. Pornichet won last year’s Toowoomba Cup for Waterhouse before romping home in the Group 1 Doomben Cup.

Currie feels another advantage for Honey Toast will be he is fit and ready to fire, whereas many of the southern raiders may be having a tune-up run before heading onto the Doomben Cup.

“I have certainly thrown Honey Toast in the deep end in the Hollindale but sometimes with a good horse, you lift the bar and they just keep jumping it,’’ Currie said. “He has won nine from 22 starts, so he certainly is a winner.

“To be honest, I would be more confident if he didn’t have to come back in trip from the 2000m of the Toowoomba Cup to the 1800m of the Hollindale. But coming back in trip is the only negative for him, as he is rock-hard fit and I’m sure he will run really well.’’

Currie will assess Honey Toast’s performance on Saturday before deciding whether to drop him back in grade or continue to raise the bar and aim for the Doomben Cup.

The only other Queensland horses among the Hollindale nominations are Sir Moments for Steven O’Dea and Tarloshan for Graeme Boyd.

Honey Toast will drop back in distance to contest the Hollindale Stakes. Picture: Grant Peters

If Honey Toast was to butter up and pull down the pants of some of biggest names in racing, it would probably be Currie’s biggest moment as a trainer.

Previously his biggest win was in 2010 when he was still a teenager and mudlark Rothera won a Group 3 race in Melbourne on Caulfield Cup day.

‘’That day was big for me because Rothera beat Sniper’s Bullet which had won the Stradbroke in 2007,’’ Currie said.

HOLLINDALE STAKES

Gold Coast, Saturday

Group 2 (1800m)

No.	Horse (Barrier)	Trainer	Jockey	Weight
1	VOLKSTOK'N'BARRELL (12)	D Logan & C Gibbs	B Shinn	59kg
2	HAURAKI (2)	J O'Shea	J McDonald	59kg
3	EXCESS KNOWLEDGE (14)	Ms G Waterhouse	Ms T Harrison	59kg
4	LEEBAZ (6)	M, W, J Hawkes	M Cahill	59kg
5	SIR MOMENTS (9)	S O'Dea	P Hammerlsey	59kg
6	STRAWBERRY BOY (11)	C Waller	J Lloyd	59kg
7	IT'S SOMEWHAT (8)	J O'Shea	D Browne	59kg
8	KOOL KOMPANY (7)	C Waller	R Fradd	59kg
9	SIR JOHN HAWKWOOD (10)	D Vandyke	B Spriggs	59kg
10	HONEY TOAST (4)	B Currie	J Byrne	59kg
11	PUCCINI (13)	D Weir	G Colless	59kg
12	SAKHEE'S SOLDIER (5)	M Baker & A Forsman	M Cameron	59kg
13	SPIRIT JIM (3)	C Waller	J Collett	59kg
14	OLD NORTH (1)	J O'Shea	T Clark	56.5kg

Originally published as Ben Currie puts Honey Toast to the test against big guns in Hollindale Stakes