Tiger Shark to put bite into Goldmarket

By Glenn Davis

Tony Gollan has been an unstoppable force again this season but rival Natalie McCall and apprentice Bailey Wheeler will be hoping to slay racing’s Goliath in the Goldmarket Handicap at the Gold Coast on Friday.

Gollan has won the Listed feature six times since his maiden victory with Group 1 winner Spirit Of Boom in 2012 and has another strong hand this year with five acceptors including topweight Golden Boom who drew a horror gate 14.

Gollan’s other Goldmarket entries are All That Pizzazz (barrier three), King Papa (one), Black Of Beauty (six) and Saltaire (seven).

McCall will take on the 11-time premiership winner with Tiger Shark, who drew gate 10, and has retained Wheeler to ride the mare at 53kgs.

Wheeler rode the four-year-old when a gutsy second to the Tony and Maddy Sears-trained Steady Ready in a 1000-metre Benchmark race at Eagle Farm last month.

“There won’t be a problem making her weight as I rode 52kgs last week on Viminele in the Magic Millions QTIS race,” Wheeler said.

“I thought Tiger Shark’s run last time was very good and she’s had a tick over trial since and won very well at Doomben.

“She’s fairly quick and has enough speed from that barrier to cross them and lead so she should be hard to beat.”

McCall holds a place in racing’s history books that no trainer can take from her when she became the first woman to train a Stradbroke Handicap winner with River Lad in 2014.

Her history making feat was equalled by Australia’s first lady of racing Gai Waterhouse, who along with co-trainer Adrian Bott, also won Queensland’s richest sprint with Alligator Blood three years ago.

A daughter of Rich Enuff, Tiger Shark has already won at Stakes level when she bowled over a slick field in the Listed Mick Dittman Plate at Eagle Farm in April last year.

Tiger Shark has won twice since her Mick Dittman victory and will be chasing her seventh win at her 21st start.

She also finished just behind the placegetters in Stakes races in the Listed Keith Noud at Doomben in November and Listed Bribie Handicap at Eagle Farm and last month.