Antino (NZ) Amazes Again in Hollindale

Saturday’s A$500,000 Group Two TAB A. D. Hollindale Stakes (1800m) on the Gold Coast was the second time this season that Antino (NZ) (Redwood) has blown his rivals off the racetrack in a major black-type feature.

Previously a six-length runaway winner of the Group One Toorak Handicap (1600m) at Caulfield in October, Antino has now won 12 of his 25 starts. He has placed in another six and earned A$2.5m in stakes, dwarfing his $27,000 purchase price at the 2020 Ready to Run Sale at Karaka.

Outside of the Toorak, the other previous black-type wins in Antino’s career had come in the Group Two Victory Stakes (1200m), Group Three Sandown Stakes (1500m) and Listed Wayne Wilson (1600m). The step up to 1800 metres in the Hollindale on Saturday was something of an unknown, but the Tony Gollan-trained Antino passed that test with flying colours.

Antino was slow to leave the starting gates and initially settled at the tail of the field, but jockey Blake Shinn set him alight a long way from home. The six-year-old made a huge move coming down the side of the track, sailing past eight horses and swooping into the lead at the home turn.

Antino didn’t stop there. He powered clear down the Gold Coast straight, winning by three and a half lengths from Fawkner Park (Zoffany) and Kovalica (NZ) (Ocean Park).

“I trust this horse and I have a lot of confidence in Tony as a trainer,” Shinn said. “Tony told me it’s the fittest the horse has ever been. He told me to ride the horse as he likes to be ridden and keep him comfortable and balanced, and fortunately it paid off.”

Gollan has no hesitation in putting Antino at the top of the list of all the horses that have been through his Eagle Farm stable.

“He means a lot to me,” Gollan said. “He’s the best horse I’ve ever trained, and when you trust him, he gives it back to you in spades. It was so good to see him deliver today.

“It was always the plan to come here second-up in this preparation, but for the last three weeks I was second-guessing myself whether I’d done the right thing. Everything at home indicated that we were on track, but I was still nervous about bringing him to the Gold Coast for the first time.

“There have been issues with kick-back, and when a horse breaks slowly like he does, there’s always the danger that things won’t go well. But I just told Blake to dare to be brave on him.

“I had him as fit and as well as I could have him second-up, and I’m just really looking forward to the Doomben Cup (Group One, 2000m) now in two weeks.

“I have never really trained him to get a trip until this prep. I always had him pinned as a miler, but we’ve put in all the groundwork with him this time, and we might even dare to go to the Q22 (Group Two, 2200m) with him after the Doomben Cup.

“I felt like it would be remiss of me not to test him over a trip and allow him to be a stayer, because his pedigree suggests this sort of trip should really suit him.”

Saturday’s third placegetter Kovalica is also a Karaka graduate, bought for $110,000 by Mulcaster Bloodstock from Book 1 of Karaka 2021. He has had 28 starts for six wins, seven placings and A$3.37m in prize-money.

Purchaser	New Balance Racing (Hong Kong)
Breeding	Redwood – Mahamaya
Sale	Lot 285, 2020 Ready to Run Sale, $27,000
Breeder	Blossom Trading & Breeding Company Ltd
Owner	Mr J Ramchandani