Talented three-year-old ready to go in the Gore Guineas
Matt Markham - Raceform • January 29th, 2026 11:34 AM • 3 min read
Lance Robinson doesn’t feel like he can do much more to have Alottago ready for Sunday’s Listed Liqourland Gore Guineas – he just needs the weather to play its part now.
The Riccarton trainer is excited at the prospect of having one of the brightest stars in his stable heading back to the races this week, and in terms of a preparation, everything has gone exactly to plan up to this point.
“It’s been a good build-up, we’re very happy with the horse and looking forward to the weekend, I’m just cautiously watching the weather as we don’t really want to be running him on a wet track first-up,” Robinson told RaceForm.
Things look set to be okay though, which will be welcome news for Robinson with a period of unsettled weather moving on and sunshine on the agenda for the deep south for the remainder of the week.
After bursting on to the scene in the spring and doing enough to work his way to the 2000 Guineas on the final day of Cup Week last year, Alottago is one of the better credentialed three-year-olds in the South Island and could be in for a strong back end to the season.
“He didn’t have a huge break after the Guineas, we’ve really just kept him ticking over and building toward this weekend as the first step in a new campaign.
“He’s done everything we’ve asked of him and is about as good as I think we could have him to be honest. We’re looking forward to it.”
The winner of the Guineas Trial back in September and runner-up to Cool Aza Rene in the Gr.3 Barneswood Farm Stakes at Ashburton, Alottago finished seventh in Romanoff’s 2000 Guineas and was far from disgraced.
He’ll have to step out against Cool Aza Rene again this weekend in the $80,000 feature, as well as talented types like Miss Starlight and North Island raider Perfect Habit, but Robinson is confident of a big run.
“I’m quite happy the race is 1335m and not 1200m, that will suit him a bit better the extra distance, but we’re just looking for a good draw, a nice run and he should be a really strong top-three chance at least in that field you’d think.
“We gave him a trial, just to get a hitout into him, and then he had an exhibition gallop as well just to really bring him on and he’s done what we needed in both runs and come through them really well.”
Corey Campbell was initially engaged to ride Alottago this weekend, but the emergence of the Brian and Shane Anderton-trained Assemble over the past month has meant his allegiance has shifted, leaving Robinson chasing a rider.
“Corey is the stable rider for the Andertons, so it’s completely understandable, but it did leave us searching there for a bit.
“We’ve got lucky though and we’ve grabbed Daniel Bothamley to ride him. He’s a good, highweight rider and he came and had a ride on him in the exhibition gallop the other day to get a feel of him and they seemed to get on well.”
Robinson is chasing his second Gore Guineas win as a trainer, having tasted success back in 2019 with Air Max who won with Lee Callaway in the saddle.
He’s enjoyed a great first half to the season too, picking up 16 victories already to sit 15th on the national trainers’ premiership and fifth in the South Island.
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