By Isaac Murphy
Trail Of Glory eased from $9.50 to $34 on the TAB fixed price market, but gun hoop Mark Du Plessis didn’t take any notice of the drift as he produced a peach of a ride to get the filly home in the QTIS Three-Year-Old Handicap, heading a Tony Gollan trifecta.
Gollan told Du Plessis he would most likely have to ride the horse for luck but was confident she was ready to go first up.
“I said to Mark (Du Plessis) going out on the winner Trail of Glory that she had strengthen up a bunch since her last prep and thought she would go really well after a nice trial at the Sunshine Coast on Tuesday.”
“I knew she had the fitness to win it was going to come down to if she got the luck from back in the field and thanks to an eleven out of ten ride from Mark (Du Plessis) she got her chance.”
Another Gollan first up runner Kittie Kins loomed as the winner inside the 100 before Trail Of Glory burst on the scene, the training looking forward to getting the filly over more ground.
“She went really well Kittie Kins she’ll really appreciate a step to the 1400 post this run and if it ever rains in Brisbane on race day it’ll suit her,” Gollan said.
In form gelding Macewen entered the race on the back of three straight wins and was the most fancied of the Gollan runners at $2.70 but struggled around the tight turns of Doomben running on late into third.
“Macewen was a pretty hard watch, his get back style just didn’t play to his advantage today, you’d prefer him at Eagle Farm and the bigger track,” Gollan said.
“He’ll be heading to The Gold Coast for the QTIS Jewel, he’s raced really well at the track and looks a really strong chance in that race.”