By Glenn Davis
Premier trainer Tony Gollan is hopeful Ashgrove can give him a second victory in The Wave and revive memories of one of the proudest moments of his life at the Gold Coast on Saturday.
Gollan won the inaugural $250,000 feature with A Man To Match in 2020, a day after his wife Jane presented him with his second child, Boyd, a younger brother to daughter Jamieson.
Gollan is also hoping The Wave will be another family affair as Ashgrove is part-owned by his sister, Zoe Daly.
Daly raced Ashgrove in a syndicate headed by his previous owners Aquis Farm and Blacksoil Bloodstock before the majority owners decided to test the market in the week leading up to the Group 3 Winx Stakes at the Sunshine Coast in July last year.
Gollan made his final bid at $200,000 for Ashgrove at the Inglis online sale knowing there was plenty of interest from Singapore and other places and was glad to keep the son of Dundeel in the stable.
He previously was knocked down for $260,000 after going through the Magic Millions sales as a yearling in 2020.
“Some of his existing owners stayed in and a few stable clients bought into him after he was sold online,” Gollan said.
Ashgrove did not handle a heavy track in the Winx Guineas, tailing off last in a field of 15 behind Majestic Colour.
He was then spelled but it didn’t take long before Ashgrove gave his new owners their first win.