Latest news with #Floozie
New Paper
27-06-2025
- Sport
- New Paper
Tiara is a great fit for Tashi
The guesswork in spotting the last Australian Group 1 winner of 2024-2025 has been made just a little harder by one missing piece. None of the 17 runners to the A$700,000 (S$583,000) Tattersall's Tiara (1,400m) at Eagle Farm on June 28 (1.58pm Singapore time) is coming out of the Stradbroke Handicap. Queensland's premier Group 1 1,400m event, which was won by War Machine on June 14, has delivered the Tiara winners of the last four editions - Tofane (2021), Startantes (2022), Palaisipan (2023) and Bella Nipotina (2024). Since the fillies and mares contest earned Group 1 status in 2007, eight winners have borne the Stradbroke formline in their lead-up, with Srikandi (2015) and Tofane doing the Stradbroke-Tiara double, a feat achieved by only Dane Ripper in the pre-Group 1 Tiara era in 1997. Interestingly, the eventual 1997 Cox Plate winner is, in name, providing the perfect fall-back option to a Tiara renewal bereft of Stradbroke form this year. The Group 2 Dane Ripper Stakes (1,300m), which is held on Stradbroke day, is without a doubt the next best traditional prelude. No fewer than 10 of the 14 Dane Ripper runners in 2025 will contest the Tiara, including the first three home, Floozie, Tashi and Firestorm - who, unsurprisingly, head the market. If anything, the statistics around the Dane Ripper Stakes as a Tiara crystal ball are almost as compelling as the Stradbroke. For the nine Group 1 Tiara winners who did not come through the Stradbroke, seven rounded out their preparations in the Dane Ripper, with Red Tracer (2013), Cosmic Endeavour (2014) and Invincibella (2019) the three to have completed the double that Floozie is chasing. Undefeated in four runs this campaign, Tony Gollan's mare by Zoustar is a deserved favourite at 3-1, almost sharing that tag with Firestorm, on whom James McDonald is bidding to equal Malcolm Johnston's 45-year-old record of 16 Group 1 wins in one season. But, perhaps, the one anomaly to that market is Tashi's odds of 6-1. In the Dane Ripper Stakes, the Peter Snowden-trained mare did not see clean air as early as the winner Floozie, but still took a huge chunk of ground off her to miss out by only half-a-length. The one-pound swing in Floozie's favour is too marginal to account for the quote discrepancy. For that reason, Tashi represents much better value, especially if he finds daylight earlier. Knockers may argue that the Sebring five-year-old does not scream Group 1 material, but then again, neither do most of her 16 rivals. As a benchmark, the only Group 1 winner, 2024 South Australian Derby (2,500m) winner Coco Sun is first-up after a disappointing Spring campaign, and over a trip not made to suit. Firestorm and Semana are the only two Group-placed contenders, and also hail from the powerhouse yards of Chris Waller and Ciaron Maher respectively. Firestorm ran second to stablemate and glamour filly Lady Shenandoah in the 2025 Coolmore Classic (1,500m), while Semana's three Group 1 placings notably include her second to Bella Nipotina for a Maher 1-2 in last year's Tiara. Bella Nipotina, who was recently retired, was the last of seven favourites since 2007 to win the Tiara. It has, however, also hatched nine double-figure winners in 20-1 shots Russeting (2009), Miss Cover Girl (2016) and Tycoon Tara (2017), incidentally Snowden's only Tiara winner. A win by Tashi would not be as jaw-dropping, but would vault Darley's (Godolphin's old name in Australia) former head trainer back into the limelight and give his Irish jockey Tom Sherry a much-deserved first Group 1 silverware. manyan@
News.com.au
27-06-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
Star jockey Angela Jones goes from the Queensland outback to the Group 1 big smoke of the Tatt's Tiara
She was the little kid who grew up in outback Queensland, thinking the Melbourne Cup was Australia's only horse race. On Saturday at Eagle Farm, the jockey who was raised on a cattle and grain property about 100km from Clermont can ride her first Group 1 winner and also pass the magical mark of 100 wins for the season. The Angela Jones story is quite extraordinary. 'When I was a kid, I knew what the Melbourne Cup was but I didn't know that there was races all year,' Jones said. 'My parents had no real knowledge about racing and neither did I. 'We would watch the Melbourne Cup once a year, I would get excited a couple of weeks out thinking I could watch the horses on TV and I thought that was cool. 'We would have the TV channel on racing for half an hour once a year and that was about it. 'I was home schooled up until I was about 15 or 16 so I had pretty flexible school hours. 'I would get up pretty early and I can remember sometimes being finished with my schoolwork by 9am. 'Then the rest of the day I would be following Dad around with whatever he was doing.' Jones is one of an ever-increasing group of female riders taking Australia by storm. She has never had a better chance to soar into racing's Group 1 club than she will have riding Tony Gollan's winning machine mare Floozie at Eagle Farm on Saturday. Jones has won four straight on Floozie since the mare came north from Victoria and she is fighting out favouritism in the Group 1 Tatt's Tiara, the final Group 1 of the Australian racing season. If it wasn't for Jones' determination and drive to be a jockey when she was young, she would have ended up in another profession. Parents Jason and Julie had no racing background and they assumed it was a passing fad when their girl wanted to explore the possibility of being a jockey. 'When I got into it Dad was of the opinion that it wasn't a career, it was something I was just mucking around with,' Jones recalls. 'My parents did say they wanted me to go to university and I was like 'I will do a gap year', because I didn't really want to go to uni. 'Even when I got into racing, I guess Mum and Dad just thought I was going to uni at some point. 'To begin with, it was like 'when are you going to get a real job and go and get a career?' 'But I told Mum that being a jockey was what I really wanted to do. 'She knows how stubborn I am so she was supportive a bit earlier, she could see it was what I was going to do anyway. 'Dad probably didn't get into it initially, he probably didn't get on board until a few of his mates started talking to him about it.' Jones went to boarding school in Charters Towers and made friends with the family of local trainer Robert Kirkwood. Robert's wife Sally is a horse instructor and it helped further the racing passion of the young Jones. But she still had little idea of the path towards trying to become a professional jockey. There was a pivotal moment one day when she went to watch the races at Charters Towers. 'I went to the local races and I ran into (former jockey and apprentice mentor) Shane Scriven,' Jones said. 'I said to him, 'can I be an apprentice?' 'I just had the idea that whatever I did, I wanted to give myself the best opportunity to do the best I could. 'I had a sister in Toowoomba, so I asked if Toowoomba was a good place to start. 'As a kid, I thought I wanted to grow up and do something with horses. 'Racing seemed pretty cool but it didn't seem to be something I would be able to do. 'I just didn't know anyone that did it or how to get into it. 'But it all really started to happen from that chat with Shane.' Jones is known for being as calm as a millpond and she has approached the week of her big Group 1 opportunity in the same way as any other week. It may be because she still has to pinch herself that she gets the chance to ride horses for a living. 'I will just treat the Tatt's Tiara like it is any other race,' Jones said. 'For me, it all started with a connection with horses. 'I was just happy that I got a job with horses, which was always my dream. 'I'm just happy being out there and I guess I forget about a lot of other things when I get on a horse. 'If you get to a point where you are trying too hard, you can over think things and make the wrong decisions.' Apart from hoping that Floozie elevates her into the Group 1 club, Jones can tick off another major milestone at Eagle Farm on Saturday. She currently sits on 99.5 winners (including a half point for a dead heat) in the Australian jockeys' premiership this season.
News.com.au
26-06-2025
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
Tony Gollan mare Floozie primed to cap dream campaign in Group 1 Tatt's Tiara
Tony Gollan was itching to get back from a trip to Royal Ascot as he has been 'daring to dream' that he can take out the Group 1 Tatt's Tiara with winning machine Floozie. Gollan is an astute judge with his horses and it's not too often he raises the bar so dramatically as he has with Floozie, who has won four in a row for him since coming to Queensland from her previous trainers in Victoria. • PUNT LIKE A PRO: Become a Racenet iQ member and get expert tips – with fully transparent return on investment statistics – from Racenet's team of professional punters at our Pro Tips section. SUBSCRIBE NOW! Floozie was privately purchased by Yarraman Park Stud from her previous owners and when Gollan got her, he earmarked the Listed Silk Stocking on the Gold Coast as her number one winter carnival goal. But with that in the bag, as well as three other races including the Group 2 Dane Ripper Stakes last start, Gollan is now shooting for the stars with four-year-old Floozie. Gollan returned to Australia on Monday from a trip to Royal Ascot and, in his time away, Floozie's Tatt's Tiara bid at Eagle Farm on Saturday had often been on his mind. Floozie brains them in the G2 Dane Ripper Stakes! ðŸ'¥ @tonygollan — SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) June 14, 2025 'I went away last week, but I was itching to get back for this Tatt's Tiara meeting,' Gollan said. 'I really like this mare and she has come such a long way for us in such a short time, I really think she is a terrific chance. 'I had a plan to get black type for her during the carnival, I thought the Silk Stocking was the option that I really needed to target. 'That's why I did what I did to get her to that race third-up. 'But since then, we have really dared to dream. 'She was really good the other day and I felt there was still some good improvement in her. 'She has won at track and the trip and she has drawn to get a really nice run again. 'I wouldn't swap her for any other horse in the race, she is as good a chance as any.' Champion trainer Gollan feels like it has already been his best season but a win in the Tatt's Tiara, which would be his third Group 1 of the season following two from Antino, would be the cherry on top. Gollan believes the last Group 1 of the season has several chances, but unlike most years it doesn't have a mare which had come off a flashing light run in the Stradbroke Handicap. 'It's always a good race which has three or four chances in it,' Gollan said. 'The only difference this year is that you normally see a mare which has run really close-up in a Stradbroke, but it's devoid of that this year. 'So you would think form coming through the races we have come through is the right form. 'This would be my best season so far, but this would be a crowning moment. 'Angela (Jones) has been on the horse the whole way for me and has never put a foot wrong. 'She has always stuck to the plan and as the horse has built in confidence and built in form, the horse and rider combination has really continued to grow.' Floozie has drawn barrier nine and is a $4.40 chance on TAB fixed odds to score the final Group 1 of the racing season.
News.com.au
24-06-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
Queensland trainer Tony Gollan on the cusp of 200 winners for season
Tony Gollan breaks training records for fun but the champion Queenslander is moving closer to climbing a peak he has never scaled before. Gollan, who will score his 12th successive Brisbane training premiership this season, is eyeing off the new personal milestone of training 200 winners in the national title. It is something he has never done before and, currently with 183 winners Australia-wide this season, it would be short odds he will raise his bat for 200 before the racing season winds up at the end of next month. It is an extraordinary effort with only Ciaron Maher, Chris Waller, the Hayes boys of Lindsay Park and Annabel and Rob Archibald stables training more winners so far this season. Most of those mega stables have multiple training bases across various venues and different states, whereas Gollan has trained purely out of Eagle Farm until relatively recently when he opened a Gold Coast satellite stable. Even by Gollan's lofty standards, the 2024/2025 season has been an incredible one and also featured dominant Group 1 wins with Antino in the Toorak Handicap and Doomben Cup. Gollan now has a golden chance to score the final Group 1 of the racing season, Saturday's Tatt's Tiara (1400m) at Eagle Farm. His stable golden girl, Floozie, has been unbeaten for Gollan with four straight wins since he took over the training of the mare from Victorians Mick Price and Michael Kent Jr. Floozie is a $4.50 second favourite to win the Tatt's Tiara, a race that eight-time Group 1 winner Gollan has never won before. It could also cap a fabulous winter carnival for Queenslanders on their home soil. With Queensland wins to Cool Archie (Group 1 JJ Atkins) and Antino (Doomben Cup), a Floozie triumph in the Tatt's Tiara would give the Sunshine State its third Group 1 of its local carnival. There have been many years where Queensland winter carnival hopefuls have been overrun by the southern invaders … but not this year. The last time Queensland produced three Group 1 winners at the winter carnival was in 2022 when Gypsy Goddess won the Queensland Oaks, Apache Chase the Kingsford Smith Cup and Startantes the Tatt's Tiara. Before that, in 2014, River Lad won the Stradbroke Handicap, Tinto claimed the Queensland Oaks and Spirit Of Boom prevailed in the Doomben 10,000.
News.com.au
22-06-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
Angela Jones' narrow miss in the Group 1 Kingsford Smith Cup has only fuelled her hunger to win a major
Queensland jockey Angela Jones has declared that her narrow miss in the recent Group 1 Kingsford Smith Cup has only fuelled her hunger to win a major on high-flying mare Floozie in the Tatt's Tiara at Eagle Farm on Saturday. Jones looked the winner for most of the way on the Tony Gollan -trained gelding Zarastro in the 1300m Group 1 on June 7 at Eagle Farm before James McDonald came from clouds to score a jaw-dropping victory on Chris Waller's Joliestar. But now Jones, 24, is hellbent on collecting her first major in the $700,000 Tatt's Tiara (1400m) for fillies and mares on Saturday as Floozie chases a remarkable fifth straight victory. The Charters Towers product said she gave herself a moment to absorb the bitter disappointment of missing out on Group 1 glory before picking herself up off the canvas to prepare for her next shot at the main prize. • PUNT LIKE A PRO: Become a Racenet iQ member and get expert tips – with fully transparent return on investment statistics – from Racenet's team of professional punters at our Pro Tips section. SUBSCRIBE NOW! 'It was such a thrill and also a little bit heartbreaking at the time,' she said about the Zarastro ride. 'I looked back on it and the week after it really gave me a little bit more motivation. 'To come so close, it only really motivated me more to win one. 'Losing to a horse (Joliestar) that's won some pretty good races, including Group 1s, and it had less weight than us too so it really showed that Zarastro deserved to be in a Group 1 field and there is one for him down the track. 'I probably let myself be sad that night and then the next day it was 'right, I'm ready to move on' and we'll try to take the positives out of it and there were plenty of positives there. 'The owners were stoked and Tony (Gollan) was happy so we could walk away with our heads held high and hope to get one down the track.' An EPIC finish in the G1 Kingsford Smith Cup sees Joliestar nab them right on the line to take her third Group 1! 🤩 @cwallerracing @mcacajamez @BrisRacingClub @RaceQLD — SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) June 7, 2025 That chance comes on Saturday, with Jones insisting she wouldn't want to be riding any other horse than four-year-old Floozie, who is rated a $4.50 chance in early betting behind Firestorm ($3.50) but ahead of Tashi ($6) and Zaszou ($8). Floozie defeated the Waller-trained Firestorm in the $300,000 Group 2 Dane Ripper Stakes (1300m) just eight days ago, with runner-up Tashi splitting the pair. 'She's pretty easy to ride every time,' Jones said about Floozie, who is also trained by Gollan. 'You can sort of do whatever you want on her so that takes the nerves away from it. 'She's a horse where if you've got a tricky gate or a heavy track, she'll still do her very best. 'Obviously we'd love to draw between four and six but if we can't then she can overcome a bad gate or bad track. 'She definitely deserves to be in it. There's probably nothing else I'd prefer to ride. 'I don't think anyone would have imagined at the start of her prep that she'd end up in this race and be in such fine form but here we are and I couldn't be more excited for it.' Floozie brains them in the G2 Dane Ripper Stakes! ðŸ'¥ @tonygollan — SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) June 14, 2025 The Tatt's Tiara will be Jones' fourth shot at a major this winter carnival following an 11th placing in the Queensland Oaks (2200m) on Sun Worshipper, second in the Kingsford Smith Cup on Zarastro and ninth in the Stradbroke Handicap (1400m) on Transatlantic. 'Getting a Group 2 victory (in the Dane Ripper Stakes) was a highlight but I'd love to get the Tatt's Tiara, that would make it wonderful,' said Jones, who has jagged 56 wins this season to sit just three behind leader Emily Lang in the Brisbane metro jockeys' premiership. 'So far if I walk away with what I have now then I'd be pretty happy with the winter carnival.' And what about that elusive Group 1? 'It'd be amazing. I'd love to get that but if it doesn't come this time, then hopefully there will be many more around the corner,' she said.
