Traveston Girl the best of Gollan’s 3 in Gold Coast Guineas

Well performed filly Traveston Girl is the best of Tony Gollan’s three runners in the Group 3 $125,000 Attwood Marshall Lawyers Gold Coast Guineas (1200m) at the Gold Coast on Saturday.

Traveston Girl is the best of Tony Gollan's three Gold Coast Guineas runners at the Gold Coast. Photo by Daniel Costello.

Traveston Girl is the best of Tony Gollan’s three Gold Coast Guineas runners at the Gold Coast. Photo by Daniel Costello.

Traveston Girl is resuming from a spell and hasn’t raced since her Spring Carnival campaign that saw her run second to the Chris Waller trained Amicus in the Group 1 $500,000 Schweppes Thousand Guineas (1600m) at Caulfield in October.

Gollan will also saddle up outsider Feels Like Home ($26) and Bearskin ($31) in the Gold Coast Guineas but naturally considers Traveston Girl, the second favourite at Ladbrokes.com.au at $5.50, his best chance of collecting the winning trophy.

“Traveston Girl would be the best horse I have in the Guineas,” Gollan told Racing Ahead.

“She is a good filly, she has done really well and has certainly improved since her stint in Melbourne in the Spring.”

Gollan can concede that Traveston Girl will need things to go her way from the wide gate and expects the on pace runner to get plenty of pressure applied up front in the early and middle stages.

“Tricky race. Typical three year old race here in Queensland. There will be speed a plenty and I’d say they will be coming from everywhere late,” Gollan said.

“She’ll be up on top of that speed. It will probably make her job a little bit tougher but she is definitely the best filly I have got there.”

“We have three nice three year olds and all have some claims.”

Traveston Girl won back to back races at Eagle Farm and Doomben in restricted class during the Brisbane Winter Carnival twelve months ago before Gollan freshened her up for a Melbourne Spring Carnival campaign.

The Flying Spur filly’s first run at Flemington produced a fourth to Afleet Esprit in the Listed $120,000 Cap D’Antibes Stakes (1100m) followed by another fourth to the same filly in the Group 2 $200,000 Schweppes Thousand Guineas Prelude (1400m) at Caulfield.

Then Traveston Girl tried valiantly to lead all of the way in the Thousand Guineas before being run down by Amicus to beaten three quarters of a length.

Feels Like Home is a new addition to the Gollan stable and resumed from a spell for a second to Gold Coast Guineas rival Beau Jet in an 1100m three year old at Doomben on April 11.

The More Than Ready filly was previous trained by Victorian trainer Danny O’Brien to record a win at  Kyneton and second over 1500m at Moonee Valley at the end of November.

Real Saga gelding Bearskin has won both his race starts at the Sunshine Coast but will find it tough stepping up in class in the Gold Coast Guineas.

Gold Coast Guineas market order at Ladbrokes.com.au: $4.50 Miss Cover Girl, $5.50 Traveston Girl, $7 Time For War, Nostradamus, Huka Eagle, $13 Better Not Blue, $17 Beau Jet, $18 Mr Cha Cha, $19 Aimee, $26 Pinch River, Amizade, Feels Like Home, $31 Executed, Bearskin, $61 Seashells, $101 Rising Luck, Larebil, Real Gene.

About The Author

Mark Mazzaglia

Mark is a passionate journalist with a life-time involvement in the racing industry. He spent many years as an analyst and form expert at the Courier Mail and also has hands-on experience working with some of Queensland’s top trainers.