Antino has solidified his status as the state\u2019s premier thoroughbred, claiming a second consecutive Horse of the Year title at the 2025 Sportsbet Queensland Thoroughbred Awards.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Tony Gollan-trained gelding produced a blistering spring campaign in Melbourne during the 2024\/25 season, breaking through for his maiden Group 1 victory in unforgettable fashion via the Toorak Handicap, alongside placings in the Group 1 Makybe Diva Stakes and Champions Mile.<\/p>\n
The seven-year-old also finished third in the Group 2 Feehan Stakes at Moonee Valley, before returning north to claim the Group 2 Hollindale Stakes on the Gold Coast and a dominant Group 1 Doomben Cup victory as part of the 2025 Queensland Racing Carnival.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As a result, he was again named the Queensland 4YO and Older Horse of the Year at this afternoon\u2019s Awards ceremony.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was a day to remember for Gollan, who extended his reign as the state\u2019s premier trainer, claiming the Jim Atkins Trainer of the Year Award for the 12th straight season.<\/p>\n
Gollan saddled up 193 winners across the state, the most of any trainer, whilst also claiming the Metropolitan Trainers\u2019 Premiership with 134 victories.\u00a0<\/p>\n
To cap off the afternoon, the eight-time Group 1-winning trainer was also inducted into the Queensland Racing Hall of Fame for a career that has netted more than 2,000 victories.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Angela Jones was rewarded for her history-making season in the saddle, crowned the George Moore Queensland Jockey of the Year after becoming the first female hoop to win the Metropolitan Jockeys\u2019 Premiership with 66 winners.<\/p>\n
Rising star Emily Lang was named the Ken Russell Queensland Apprentice of the Year in a season that saw her notch 74.5 wins statewide, whilst also finishing only 2.5 wins behind Jones in the Metropolitan Jockeys\u2019 Premiership.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Racing Minister Tim Mander was on hand to open the afternoon\u2019s events and praised the efforts of the thoroughbred industry.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a proud Queenslander, it is fantastic to see our local stars light up the track both at home and on the national stage,\u201d Minister Mander said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Sportsbet Queensland Thoroughbred Awards is a fantastic opportunity to recognise the achievements of both human and equine participants in our sport.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cCongratulations to all winners, and also those who were nominated, as we celebrate another remarkable year of thoroughbred racing in Queensland.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Chris and Corey Munce-trained Cool Archie was crowned the 2YO Horse of the Year after a blistering five-race winning streak that culminated in Group 1 glory with the JJ Atkins.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The David Vandyke-trained Philia held out some strong competition from Spicy Martini and Give Me Space to claim the 3YO Horse of the Year, with four wins in a row being capped off by the Group 2 The Roses on Doomben Cup day.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Queensland\u2019s first ever Melbourne Cup champion Knight\u2019s Choice was rightfully awarded with the Darby McCarthy Performance of the Year gong, whilst Yellow Brick was named the QTIS Horse of the Year.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cQueensland racing continues to go from strength to strength, which was undoubtedly reflected in one of the strongest fields we have ever seen for the Horse of the Year Award,\u201d Acting Racing Queensland CEO Lachlan Murray said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAntino claiming the top honour for the second straight year is thoroughly deserved following a remarkable showing in the Melbourne spring, before going to another level here at home throughout the Queensland Racing Carnival.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAway from the track, it was great to be able to acknowledge the hard work of our QOTT Queensland Acknowledged Retrainer of the Year, Amanda Benson, and Darren Gough as our Stable Person of the Year.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Gollan was joined in the Queensland Racing Hall of Fame by one of the state\u2019s most iconic horses Chief De Beers, who was known as the \u2018King of Doomben\u2019 after taking out all 20 of his career wins at the venue, including the Group 1 Doomben 10,000 in 1995 and 1998.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Jockey Michael Pelling was also inducted for a career that included four Group 1 victories, a Melbourne Cup ride on Kingston Town, four Metropolitan Jockeys\u2019 Premierships and more than 1,500 career wins.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The final inductee was Peter Howard of the Thoroughbred Racing History Association, for his vital contribution in preserving the history of racing in Queensland through his work at the Eagle Farm museum.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In total, more than 30 awards were handed out at the 2025 Sportsbet Queensland Thoroughbred Awards this afternoon.<\/p>\n
2025 Sportsbet Queensland Thoroughbred Award winners<\/p>\n
Major Awards\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sportsbet Queensland Thoroughbred Horse of the Year \u2013 Antino (Tony Gollan)\u00a0Garrards Jim Atkins Queensland Trainer of the Year \u2013 Tony Gollan\u00a0George Moore Queensland Jockey of the Year \u2013 Angela JonesKen Russell Queensland Apprentice of the Year \u2013 Emily Lang<\/p>\n
Horses of the Year\u00a0<\/p>\n
Peak Marketing QTIS Horse of the Year \u2013 Yellow Brick (Tony & Maddysen Sears)Magic Millions Queensland 2YO Horse of the Year \u2013 Cool Archie (Chris & Corey Munce)Magic Millions Queensland 3YO Horse of the Year \u2013 Philia (David Vandyke)Brisbane Racing Club Queensland 4YO and Older Horse of the Year \u2013 Antino (Tony Gollan) \u00a0<\/p>\n
Premierships<\/p>\n
Brisbane Racing Club Metropolitan Jockeys\u2019 Premiership \u2013 Angela JonesBrisbane Racing Club Metropolitan Apprentice Premiership \u2013 Emily LangBrisbane Racing Club Metropolitan Trainers\u2019 Premiership \u2013 Tony Gollan\u00a0Gold Coast Turf Club Provincial Jockeys\u2019 Premiership \u2013 Justin Stanley\u00a0Gold Coast Turf Club Provincial Apprentice Premiership \u2013 Jace McMurrayGold Coast Turf Club Provincial Trainers\u2019 Premiership \u2013 Mark CurrieGold Coast Turf Club Provincial Horse of the Year \u2013 Hellish (Tom Button)Stanley River Thoroughbreds Country Premiership Jockey \u2013 Chloe LoweStanley River Thoroughbreds Country Apprentice Premiership \u2013 Chloe Lowe\u00a0Stanley River Thoroughbreds Country Premiership Trainer \u2013 Tanya ParryStanley River Thoroughbreds Country Premiership Horse of the Year \u2013 Han Dynasty (Bevan Johnson)<\/p>\n
Breeding\u00a0<\/p>\n
TBQA Queensland Stallion of the Year \u2013 Better Than ReadyTBQA Champion First Season Stallion \u2013 Prince FawazTBQA Champion 2YO Stallion \u2013 Spirit Of BoomTBQA Broodmare of the Year \u2013 Freezethemillions and Ready to Rule\u00a0<\/p>\n
Other Awards\u00a0<\/p>\n
Racing Queensland Student of the Year \u2013 Jade MetcalfeDarby McCarthy Performance of the Year \u2013 Knight\u2019s ChoiceAmbassador Travel Stable Person of the Year \u2013 Darren GoughQOTT Queensland Acknowledged Retrainer of the Year \u2013 Amanda BensonWayne Wilson Medal \u2013 Sheila Laxon and John SymonsPat Duff Medal \u2013 Barry Lockwood\u00a0<\/p>\n
2025 Queensland Hall of Fame inductees\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chief De Beers (Horse)Michael Pelling (Jockey)Peter Howard (Associate)Tony Gollan (Trainer) <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Antino has solidified his status as the state\u2019s premier thoroughbred, claiming a second consecutive Horse of the Year…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":194410,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[3004,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-194409","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-racing","tag-racing","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/194409","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=194409"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/194409\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/194410"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=194409"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=194409"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=194409"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}