{"id":79647,"date":"2026-08-25T02:44:11","date_gmt":"2026-08-25T02:44:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/79647\/"},"modified":"2026-08-25T02:44:11","modified_gmt":"2026-08-25T02:44:11","slug":"hes-still-got-it-rothfire-wins-trial-ahead-of-melbourne-group-1-spring-raid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/79647\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018He\u2019s still got it\u2019: Rothfire wins trial ahead of Melbourne Group 1 spring raid"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cHe hasn\u2019t lost it, he has still got it.\u201d<\/p>\n

They were the first words that Rob Heathcote<\/a> said to Rothfire<\/a>\u2019s owners after the evergreen sprinting freak won his Doomben trial as he prepared for another Melbourne spring carnival assault.<\/p>\n

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The now nine-year-old turned back time when he won the Group 1 Doomben 10,000 at $61 during the Queensland winter carnival and there have been no signs that retirement is beckoning.<\/p>\n

Rothfire led and won his 1000m Doomben trial on Tuesday morning, edging out stablemate Abounding who trialled impressively and is also Melbourne-bound.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe has still got it, the old fella,\u201d Heathcote said of Rothfire.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a question I get asked regularly, has he run his last race, will you retire him, what are you going to do?<\/p>\n

\u201cBut it\u2019s like he is four years old again, he\u2019s fantastic.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe will be on a float down south and we look like going into the Group 1 Moir Stakes on September 5.<\/p>\n

\u201cGroup 1, 1000m, to be run at Sandown this year, bring it on.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u2022 \u2018It’s ambitious, but who knows?\u2019 Pollard’s wild Everest dream<\/a><\/p>\n

Heathcote was also smitten with the trial of Abounding, who won the BRC Sprint during the winter carnival but then was well beaten in the Group 1 Stradbroke Handicap and Group 1 Tatt\u2019s Tiara.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been an interesting time since the Stradbroke, but I\u2019m really happy to see her trial so well,\u201d Heathcote said.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe will be on the same float as Rothfire and she may even run on the same day as Rothfire in the (Group 3) Chautauqua Stakes (1300m).\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Tony Gollan<\/a> was happy with his Group 1 Toorak Handicap winner Transatlantic<\/a> who warmed up for an upcoming Sydney spring carnival mission by winning his 1000m Doomben heat. <\/p>\n

\u2022 How a Qld legend transformed Jace McMurray into a rising star<\/a><\/p>\n

Gollan has won with the first two of his interstate spring travelling team \u2013 Boomtown Boss in Melbourne and Pembrey in Sydney \u2013 and is hoping Transatlantic can perform at his best in the spring.<\/p>\n

Transatlantic was beaten a long way in the Stradbroke but had a torrid run.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe will be a bit trickier to go boom with, to start with, he has a terrible first-up record,\u201d Gollan said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut he can really springboard from that winter preparation into the spring.<\/p>\n

\u201cHopefully he heads to Randwick on Saturday week to kick him off, but he is a horse who will build nicely into his preparation.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am thinking a target race for him will be the ($2m) Hill Stakes (1900m) at Rosehill in October.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I am open to change with him, he might even head back to Melbourne for a Toorak.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Gollan said three-year-old filly Pembrey had pulled up well from her blistering win in last Saturday\u2019s Group 2 Silver Shadow Stakes at Randwick.<\/p>\n

Her win was so dominant it even raised the prospect of The Everest slot-holders coming knocking, but for the moment Gollan is simply eyeing off her next run in the Group 2 Furious Stakes on Saturday week.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt this stage, she runs in the Furious but there are a lot of different options still open,\u201d Gollan said.<\/p>\n

Originally published as Rothfire proves he\u2019s still got it with trial win ahead of Melbourne Group 1 spring raid<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cHe hasn\u2019t lost it, he has still got it.\u201d They were the first words that Rob Heathcote 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