Gollan closes in on fifth George Moore with Garibaldi

By Glenn Davis

Premier trainer Tony Gollan is accustomed to having multiple starters in the Group 3 George Moore Stakes but in a rare year he will rely on just one runner when stakes winner Garibaldi steps out at Doomben on Saturday.

Gollan was denied a fifth straight win in last month’s Listed Keith Noud Stakes when Garibaldi finished second in track record time behind the Annabel Neasham-trained Holyfield.

Gollan late nominated Group 1 champion Vega One for the George Moore earlier this week but decided against accepting with the seven-year-old, who has had two barrier trials since finishing last in the Doomben 10,000 in May.

“I put in a late nomination on Monday with Vega One hoping he’d work along well on Tuesday but I wasn’t quite happy with him so we’ll wait another day,” Gollan said.

Gollan is hopeful Garibaldi can avenge his Keith Noud defeat.

“He’s racing really well and he likes his runs spaced,” he said.

“It’ll be 21 days since his last run and he’s going well.

“He’s not a Magic Millions horse as he was bought at the Inglis sales so we’ll just tick along for a bit and find another race after Saturday.”

The eight-time premiership winning trainer will be shooting for his fifth George Moore Stakes victory after winning four of the past seven features.

He claimed his first George Moore Stakes with Didntcostalot in 2015 before Most Important saluted the following year.

He missed out the year Monsieur Gustave won in 2017 but was back in the winning groove when I’m A Rippa won in 2018 before claiming his fourth win last year with Zoustyle.

Gollan has retained jockey Ryan Maloney for the six-year-old Garibaldi who will be chasing his eighth win in 33 starts.

Garibaldi, a son of super sire I Am Invincible, was knocked down for $475,000 at the Magic Millions yearling sales in 2018 and has earned just short of $500,000 in prize money.

His only stakes win of his career was in the Listed Goldmarket Handicap at the Gold Coast in August.

Meanwhile, Deagon trainer Jack Bruce is hopeful Axe can give him his first Group winner since being licensed to train in May.

Axe gave Bruce his maiden stakes win in the Listed Weetwood Handicap in September with just his 42nd starter.

Axe has had a win and two placings in three starts for Bruce and is coming off a second placed finish to the Gollan-trained Ef Troop at Eagle Farm in the middle of October.

“He hasn’t raced for seven weeks but I like to space his runs and he’ll go into this very fit before the Magic Millions,” Bruce said.

“I gave him an easy trial last week and he’s ready to rock and roll.

“Garibaldi looks the biggest danger but we’ve beaten him once and he’s beaten us once.”

Bruce has a team of 24 horses in work at Deagon on Brisbane’s north side while he has just opened a second stable at Caloundra, where he has another 20 in work.