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By Ray Hickson

A carefully managed preparation and a strong first-up record give Tony Gollan a quiet confidence that Antino could be the dark horse of Saturday’s Group 1 $1.5 million Schweppes All Aged Stakes (1400m) at Randwick.

Trainer Tony Gollan (Pic: Grant Guy)

The six-year-old has always been a talent but his stocks rose sharply in the spring with his runaway Toorak Handicap win, and subsequent Cantala Stakes second where he split Mr Brightside and Fangirl, earning him a Hong Kong trip.

That didn’t quite work out but Gollan feels it’s enabled him to play to Antino’s strengths for his autumn and winter campaign.

“I think he’s come back as good or better,’’ Gollan said.

“As he’s got older, and up in grade, he’s enjoyed kicking off in these 1400m races then going out to a mile.

“I couldn’t see why, the way the horse races, I couldn’t go further than a mile with him with the right preparation. I thought this is my chance to do that, he’s come back terrific and looks fantastic.

“I don’t think much will parade any better than him on Saturday and he will race very well. I’ve had him in work for quite a while and he’s certainly ready to go to the races.”

Antino didn’t have the best of luck in the Hong Kong Mile but Gollan said it was a good experience for him and the horse.

But it also meant he’d have to miss the bulk of the autumn.

“I gave him a bit longer because of Hong Kong, I wanted to give him a couple of weeks on the grass when he got home because he’d had a busy campaign,’’ he said.

“When you look at the races you have to choose from to kick off this is about it.

“It gives me an opportunity, I’m hoping, to get out toward the Hollindale/Doomben Cup if we want to go that way. Or I could always wait and not run again until the Stradbroke.

“We’ve kicked him off at 1400m at his last couple of preps and it’s a good formula for him.”

It’s noticeable that Antino hasn’t had an official trial leading into the All Aged but Gollan said he has participated in a 1000m jump out on the course proper at Eagle Farm.

He concedes the gelding will likely give away a start but said he’d be disappointed if he’s not finishing in the first four or five and is a genuine winning chance.

“We were able to get a good 1000m hit out into him with seven other carnival style horses, like Rothfire, and it was a good, solid, trial,’’ he said.

“He’ll be in the second half of the field somewhere and he’ll be strong at the line.”

Stablemate Zarastro is looking for a dry track and 1200m to bring out his best so Gollan said the Group 3 $250,000 TAB Hall Mark Stakes (1200m) is a good option.

While also entered in Brisbane, he said the Hall Mark also allows him to use the horse’s strengths to his advantage from barrier one.

Zarastro hasn’t raced since winning the Magic Millions Sprint (1200m) on the Gold Coast on January 17 with six of his seven wins since joining Gollan coming at that distance.

“He doesn’t like those shifty tracks and I think Randwick provides a better surface,’’ he said.

Zarastro wins at the Gold Coast in January

“I feel the race shapes better for him, he rolls along and is a tough, on pace, horse and is in good order.

“He’s had a short break and had that 1000m jump out in the same heat as Antino. He heads there in good order with hopefully a good winter ahead of him.

“He’s not at his top but he is in very good order for a first-up run.”

All the fields, form and replays for All Aged Stakes Day at Randwick