Trainer Tony Gollan is happy with both Spirit Of Boom and Temple Of Boom ahead of the 2014 Doomben 10,000 and said that he can’t split his star sprinters ahead of the Group 1 event at Doomben on Saturday.

Temple Of Boom held-off a fast finishing Spirit Of Boom to win the Victory Stakes at the start of the 2014 Brisbane Winter Racing Carnival. Photo by: Daniel Costello

Temple Of Boom scored a narrow victory over his half-brother in the Group 2 Victory Stakes (1200m) at Eagle Farm on April 26, but Spirit Of Boom was the first Gollan-trained horse home when he finished second behind Famous Seamus in the Group 1 BTC Cup (1200m) at Doomben on May 10.

Gollan told Racing Ahead that both Spirit Of Boom and Temple Of Boom worked strongly this morning and he believes that track pattern and the barrier draw will decide which of the pair is his leading chance in the Doomben 10,000 this weekend.

“They just both galloped this morning at Doomben actually and the work was really nice and I couldn’t have asked for more,” Gollan said.

“He was a touch keen mid work Spirit, but he finished off nicely.

“He has had a couple of trips to the beach in the last couple of weeks to break his routine up and he is just training on beautifully.

“I can’t ever split them and I always sit on the fence.

“They are both going well and I just think that barriers and track patterns really plays a part.

“As you see when they both race together, there is nothing much between them really.”

Gary Portelli, the trainer of Doomben 10,000 contender Rebel Dane, said yesterday that he was worried about a potential track bias at Doomben on Saturday and Gollan admits that he was slightly concerned with the way that the surface favored leaders at the Doomben Cup meeting last weekend.

Gollan said that he was surprised with how the track played and is hoping that a shift of the rail will give backmarkers, like Spirit Of Boom, the change to run on this Saturday.

“It was quiet strange and I certainly didn’t expect it going to the races at Doomben on Saturday; that the track would play so insideish,” Gollan said.

“They are shifting the rail out a couple of minutes and whether that changes that pattern and we can a more fair surface on the weekend, time will only tell.

“We are not going to know until a few races are run.”

Spirit Of Boom is currently on the third line of 2014 Doomben 10,000 betting markets at a quote of $%, while Tempe Of Boom is available at a quote of $14.