Boomtown Boss heads south for Flemington's Aurie's Star Handicap challenge

Tony Gollan, a Brisbane-based trainer, has dispatched Boomtown Boss, a capable gelding, to Melbourne with the intention of broadening the horse's horizons ahead of his first-up attempt in the Aurie's Star Handicap at Flemington on Saturday.

The Group 3 Aurie's Star Handicap, a 1200-metre contest, might serve as the initial step in an extended Melbourne campaign or simply a preparatory run before returning to Queensland for the Summer Carnival.

Gollan is counting on the lingering fitness from the Brisbane Winter Carnival to give Boomtown Boss a strong chance of performing well on his debut over Flemington's famous straight course.

"I was having a preparation with him in the winter that started off well and then I really just ran out of luck with him," Gollan said. "I decided to abort it and it's a long time to our summer. He's a horse that I think a bit of travel will bring him on quite a lot. He's a very busy horse at home and very comfortable in his own environment and I've noticed with a few of the horses that are like him, if you can get them away and get them into a new area, it brings them on mentally and that's what I feel like I can do with this bloke. On his best form he is up to a race like this, as you can see by his runs during the winter, and I just thought travelling him would be ideal for him."

The trainer does not anticipate any difficulties for Boomtown Boss navigating the straight track.

He believes the sprinter is best suited to large tracks and distances around 1300m to 1400m, and anticipates Flemington's straight 1200m will play to these attributes.

"He's a horse that likes a bit of room, that can get into his gallop and unleash a good turn of foot," Gollan explained. "Without him being down the straight, and it being an unknown, he probably profiles well enough from what we've seen on big tracks like Eagle Farm, to really enjoy the straight."

Gollan noted that Boomtown Boss has been stabled in Melbourne for a period, at Ciaron Maher's Cranbourne facility, and has progressively improved during his stay.

A recent trial at Caulfield Heath was conducted to provide the gelding with more experience racing in Melbourne, and he appears to be responding positively.

"We know the residual fitness of the winter carnival up here carries over in the early stages of the carnival down there."

No concrete plans have been established beyond Saturday's race, with the gelding's performance in the Aurie's Star Handicap to dictate his future movements.

"It's a run at a time and it's more about the experience of him being away," Gollan remarked. "Hopefully he runs really well, as we expect, and maybe we could look to go to another race, but we could also bring him home for the summer. It really is a week-by-week thing for the horse."

Daniel Moor, a jockey formerly based in Melbourne who frequently assists Gollan with trackwork in Brisbane, has been engaged to ride Boomtown Boss.

There are 14 horses entered for the Aurie's Star Handicap, with final acceptances due on Wednesday morning. Check out the latest online bookmakers for the race.