Talented duo Temple Of Boom and Spirit Of Boom will be looking to end their winter campaigns on a high when they take to the track at Eagle Farm this Saturday.
Tony Gollan, who trains the half-brothers, is hoping he will be able to score at least one stakes level victory by the carnival’s end.
Older brother Temple Of Boom will line up against a talented field in the $175,000 Group 3 W.J. Healy Stakes, while Spirit Of Boom will take on the QTIS 3YO Handicap in the hope of winning his first race this season.
While the pair have been consistently producing good runs, Gollan is hoping a win from each horse can alleviate some of the frustration he has felt these past two months.
“We’ve had a winter carnival which has been quietly frustrating,” Gollan said.
“We’ve not been able to win any of these races but they have been very consistent all carnival.”
Temple Of Boom will be second-up when he takes on the tough W.J. Healy Stakes this weekend after finishing fourth in his last start in the Listed Lightning Handicap on Stradbroke Day.
“He was a bit fat as he hadn’t raced since Magic Millions day,” Gollan said.
“We knew the Lightning wasn’t going to be ideal for him first up because he was going to get a lot of weight and he is only a small horse.
“We would have liked to resume him somewhere with a weight like he has in the Healy.
“I thought he raced well on resuming; he knocked up about 100m out so I am a bit concerned we are a touch behind with him.
“He has improved nicely since his first up run and we are just hoping he can find that little bit extra.
“Off his first run he was just short of condition that little bit and we hope he has made the necessary improvement for Saturday.”
Temple Of Boom was unable to contest both the Group 1 The Galaxy and the $1 million Stradbroke Handicap due to a leg injury.
“He had a short break after the Magic Millions and he came back in to get ready for Sydney,” Gollan said.
“He had a trackwork mishap where he jumped a puddle of water and skinned his front leg.
“We had to get him stitches and because it was around his tendon we wanted to give it time to heal and get rid of the scar tissue around there.
“We didn’t have time to get him ready for Sydney so we backed off, put him in the paddock for a few weeks.
“Unfortunately with the Queensland Winter carnival, horses of his distance calibre, unless they are ready early in the winter there isn’t anything for them until the back end of the carnival.
“That was why he had a longer than anticipated break from racing.”
Depending on his performance this Saturday, Temple Of Boom may be prepared for a Melbourne spring carnival.
“If he does win this race he will have a short break and then get ready for the early part of Melbourne,” Gollan said.
“If he runs a nice race and still shows us he is open to improvement which will likely be the case we would head down to the Grafton Ramornie with him.”
While Temple Of Boom will contest one of the final group races of the winter carnival, Spirit Of Boom will head to a 3YO Handicap in the attempt to produce a win.
“He is still a colt and can do a couple of things wrong when the tempo doesn’t go his way but we think Saturday is a nice race to finish his preparation off with,” Gollan said.
Gollan believes the 1,200 metre distance of the race will be perfectly suited to Spirit Of Boom.
“We are looking forward to getting him back to the six furlongs on Saturday,” Gollan said.
“It is a shame the Group races are gone for the three-year-olds.”
Spirit Of Boom has been given top-weight of 59.5 kilograms in the race.
“He is faced with the obstacle of being in a handicap race where previously this campaign he has been protected by set weight races over the carnival so far,” Gollan said.
The trainer has booked apprentice jockey Tim bell in order to be eligible for a weight reduction.
“Tim rode him first up in the 1000m race when he ran third behind Ready To Rip so he has had a feel for the horse,” Gollan said.
Gollan feels that an inside gate will be critical to Spirit Of Boom’s success this Saturday.
“The barrier will be important,” he said.
“If he draws wide it could be a tricky ride for the young fella (Tim Bell) riding him but if he draws a good alley he will settle somewhere just off the pace and would then be hard to hold out at the finish.”
Gollan hopes that he will be able to take both the Temple brothers, as well as his other stable star Listen Son, to Melbourne this spring.
“Because they have had extended winters they will have a few weeks off and we will give them time to get over their winter campaigns and then look at Melbourne,” Gollan said.
Gollan is hopeful Spirit Of Boom can follow in his older brother’s footsteps, with Temple Of Boom enjoying success in the Listed Swisse Vitamins Stakes last spring.
“Spirit Of Boom may run in something like what Temple Of Boom won last year down there and we would like to get Listen Son to Flemington and find something there over 1400m below the top grade,” Gollan said.
“Spirit Of Boom is one we are really looking forward to running at Flemington and finding a nice race for him up the straight.
“I think he will be really suited to straight racing where he would sit just off the speed and hit the line.
“In the meantime we are looking forward to getting him back to the six furlongs at Eagle Farm on Saturday and finish his latest preparation with a win.”