Top-shelf winner at Toowoomba

Whiskey Allround kick-started the Australian two year-old season with a runaway victory in the $75,000 Hopeful Plate (1000m) at Toowoomba on Saturday evening.

Whiskey Allround (2g All Bar One – Admiral’s Affair by Admiralty) started an odds-on favourite and was always prominent behind front-runner Pick And Run.  When jockey Damien Robinson released the brakes in the straight, he exploded to win by 8 lengths.

Best of the rest was Angie’s Diary (Publishing) who came from near last to snatch second spot ahead of Pick And Run (The Hammer).

The Hopeful Plate winner is trained by Tony Gollan and is from the third crop of deceased Oaklands Stud resident All Bar One.  He is the second foal from Admiral’s Affair who won a Toowoomba maiden for Gollan’s father Darryl.

Gollan prepares Whiskey Allround for the Schmidt family and they also bred the winner.  The Hopeful Plate was some consolation for connections after their promising three year-old The Storeman was beaten a long neck earlier in the day.

The Storeman (Sequalo) was backed for a stack only to come up a long neck short behind Reflectance in Race 3 at Doomben.

– Karl Patterson