Antino is set to make his long-awaited return to public view when he trials at Deagon on Tuesday morning as part of a strong Queensland line-up.

The seven-year-old, trained by Tony Gollan, has not been seen since finishing last in the Group 1 Cox Plate in October, but connections are confident that performance can be put down to circumstance rather than ability.

Gollan said extensive veterinary checks following the run had revealed no underlying issues.

“I’m very happy with him,” Gollan said.

“I did bone scans and had all sorts of tests done, x-rayed all his joints everywhere and there was nothing that we didn’t know.

“He’s got a bit of wear and tear but there are no significant injuries.

“He seems as good or better than where he was last year.”

The plan is to build Antino towards a Sydney autumn campaign, with the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth Stakes a likely target.

Tuesday’s 1050m trial is expected to be a quiet one, with Gollan keen to ease the gelding back into work.

“It will be a soft trial,” he said.

“He’ll be at the back and probably won’t trouble the scorer.

“Then he’ll have another one a couple of weeks later and hopefully head to Sydney for his first-up run.”

Early markets have Antino at $11 for the Queen Elizabeth, with punters already showing interest across major betting platforms.

“Taking out the Cox Plate run, his elite level form was right up there,” Gollan said.

“If needed, we can also look at something like the Doomben Cup again.”

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