DOLLOP WINS AT ONLY HIS SECOND ATTEMPT

By Graham Potter | Saturday, February 19, 2022

It took the Michael Nolan trained gelding Dollop just two starts to find his way into the winner’s enclosure and he did that with an emphatic win in a Maiden Handicap over 1000m at Toowoomba on February 19.

Dollop had kicked off his career two weeks earlier with third place finish at odds of $13 behind Dazzling Flash in a QTIS Three-Year-Old Handicap over 1000m. He was always prominent that day, landing in the leading line and staying in contention until halfway up the home straight where Dazzling Flash took command to win going away while the $1.55 favourite Spirit Princess also went past Dollop late to claim second spot.

The fact that Dazzling Flash also won her next start and the fact that Spirit Princess was to go on and follow up that second placing with two successive wins of her own certainly puts Dollop’s debut effort in a very positive perspective.

Dollop then duly put that important first win behind his name in a Maiden Handicap over 1000m at Toowoomba on February 19 where he started at $4.50 and was good enough to push past the $2.15 favourite Johnny Thunder and win by 1.30 lengths.

The wide barrier (a case of where ten out of ten is not a good thing) was always going to be a bit of a concern for Dollop. To offset that disadvantage, Monty Savva chased Dollop in the early part, all the way until she had secured a positive position in the running, at which stage she was content to let Johnny Thunder go at the head of affairs while Dollop took up a trailing position in second place,

Dollop actually lost position marginally approaching the turn. While he did go back to fourth place, he remained very much in striking distance and, after cornering some four wide, he did take a moment to balance up again in the straight, but when Savva pressed the accelerator, Dollop responded beautifully to surge forward with meaning.

He still had to get to Johnny Thunder though, and there was a number of other horses around him running on, but Dollop never flinched and sustained his run to the line to score an impressive victory.