By Glenn Davis
Trainer Les Kelly has put the polish on some top sprinters during his career but few rate as tough as consistent speed machine Gogol.
Gogol has had only a short two-week break since he joined Kelly's stables last July, and lines up for his 15th Queensland start in the Open Handicap over 1200 metres at Eagle Farm on Saturday.
The five-year-old was originally trained by Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott in Sydney before being bought at an online auction by hotelier Garry Palmer.
“Garry has one other horse with me and he got him at an online auction and sent him to Bevan Johnson in central Queensland,” Kelly said.
“He never had a start for Bevan up there and he had a lot of feet problems when I got him.
“But we’ve worked on them and he’s come right.
“He’s now won eight races in 14 starts since July which is a pretty good effort for any horse.”
Gogol – a Boris Thornton mount – is backing up a week after finishing third to the Tony Gollan-trained Vinco at Toowoomba last Saturday.
“I can’t fault this horse and he didn’t handle the shifty track at Toowoomba last week,” Kelly said.
“He’s pulled up in terrific order and he keeps getting better with every run.
“I don’t do a lot of work with him as he thrives on swimming.
“My only concern is he’s been up a long time and he might be getting close to a break.”