By Isaac Murphy
Tony Gollan has put the finishing touches on a cracker of a day scoring the quinella in The Group Three George Moore stakes, with I’m A Rippa upstaging stablemate and 2016 winner Most Important in a class record gallop.
Gollan’s gelding Zoustyle lowered Pierata’s class record in race six and it lasted all of an hour and a half, as I’m a Rippa led them a merry dance under a beautifully rated ride from jockey Brad Stewart to lower the mark to 1:08:43.
Stewart took the gelding to the front and got away with a comfortable 35.45 second gallop for the first 600, stacking them up behind before kicking clear in the straight.
“I didn’t think I’d see anything run quicker than Zoustyle today but the gelding did it,” Gollan said.
Gollan said the gelding had taken huge benefit from his first up run in the Keith Noud Quality, where he finished a close third behind Most Important.
“He needed that first up run and he improved a couple of lengths on that today,” he said
“The run from the stablemate was huge under the big weight, but with the swing today Rippa was too good.”
I’m A Rippa didn’t look like a future Group winner early in his career with Gollan having to send him north just to break his maiden, now he has the summer carnival at his feet.
“He’s a horse that’s taken a while to find his feet, I had to take him to Rockhampton to break his maiden,” he said.
“I think we’re finally going to see the best of him this prep.”
“We’ll head towards the Magic Millions Buffering now over the 1350m which I think will suit him to a tee.”