Dougall in no rush with latest Toowoomba discovery

By Glenn Davis

Toowoomba trainer Tom Dougall will let the dust settle before deciding the next mission for brilliant Doomben winner Go Wandji.

The little-known Toowoomba sprinter was beaten at Warwick at his previous start before being heavily backed in a runaway four and a half length win in a Benchmark 70 race over 1350 metres at Doomben on Saturday.

“It was a perfect storm as he was down in weight and out in distance after he ran second at Warwick,” Dougall said.

“He got too far back at Warwick and it was too short for him and the horse that beat him Festival Prince looks to be pretty good.

“I’m not sure where he’ll go next but I’ll let the dust settle and make sure he pulls up good this week before deciding what’s next for him.”

Dougall has received a number of offers to sell Go Wandji, who took his record to four wins and two placings from only six starts.

“He’s a nice horse but he’s still learning,” Dougall said.

“I’ve had a few calls to sell him but he’s Dad’s horse and it’s up to him. I’m under no pressure.”

Go Wandji, a four-year-old son of Wandji, was bought by Dougall’s father, John, for only $20,000 at the Scone Inglis sale in 2019.

“It’s up to Dad if he wants to sell him or not but he’s having a lot of fun with him at the moment,” Dougall said.

Dougall trains only a small team at Toowoomba and was in the winner’s stall in the metropolitan area for the first time since Lady Agulhas won at Eagle Farm in 2013.

“Dad had a lot of good horses when he was a trainer,” Dougall said.

“He trained a horse called Todfrost who won 17 of his first 21 starts.

“He’s had a lot of other good horses to win in the city and I wouldn’t say Go Wandji is any better than those.”

However, Dougall believes the sky is the limit for Go Wandji if the gelding keeps improving and hasn’t ruled out a Queensland winter carnival campaign next year.

“He’s a big raw fella who will get further, there’s no doubt about that,” Dougall said.

“The winter is a possibility but he’ll need to keep improving and who knows if that will happen.

“Some horses reach a certain level and just don’t improve further.”