| Tony Gollan has set his sights on Group 1 glory with Jonker after the rejuvenated sprinter destroyed his rivals with a display of sustained speed in Saturday’s $1 million It’s Live! In Queensland Magic Millions Snippets (1200m) at the Gold Coast. |
The five-year-old son of Gollan’s pin-up sprinter Spirit of Boom was ridden positively out of barrier 12 by jockey Jim Byrne to lead his rivals with ease. Byrne edged away from the inside as the field turned for home and, while several key rivals including Godolphin pair Exhilarates and Roheryn loomed as threats inside the final 200m, Jonker maintained a one length margin to the winning post and stopped the clock at 1.09.12. For Gollan, who took over training of the entire at the beginning of this campaign, the win was his second in the feature sprint and, like his other winner Temple of Boom, the trainer is optimistic Jonker can progress to greater heights. “He did a really great job at his first run for us when he broke the track record but he just got his coloured lowered a touch second-up but he was good today,” Gollan said. “I was worried at the furlong when there was a wall of them coming but his last half furlong was so good, he just powered away. “He’s got a great appetite to win races and he’s still a stallion so I think I can win a good race with him this year. “Hopefully he can follow in his father’s (Spirit of Boom) footsteps. “It’s the second time I’ve won the sprint down here, you need a good horse to win it and Temple Of Boom was a good horse, he won a Group 1 afterwards so I’m really hoping this horse can go on and do the same thing later in the year.” Jonker was purchased for $45,000 at the 2017 Gold Coast Yearling Sale and was one of the key chances in the $2 million Magic Millions Classic (1200m) in 2018 when he suffered significant interference in the race won by Sunlight. Saturday’s win was the fourth of Jonker’s 23-start career and took his earnings beyond $1.2 million. |
