Tatts Tiara plan for well-bred Floozie
Widden Stud’s Zoustar (Northern Meteor) has a new Group 2 winner to augment his charge to a maiden champion sire title after the impeccably-bred Floozie scored a fighting victory in Eagle Farm’s Dane Ripper Stakes (Gr 2, 1300m).
And her trainer Tony Gollan believes she’ll have a strong chance to let Zoustar sign off on his golden season with another elite winner when she contests the last G1 of the season in the Tatts Tiara (Gr 1, 1400m), also at Eagle Farm, in a fortnight.
Ridden by Angela Jones, Floozie started a $4.60 favourite for Saturday’s fillies and mares’ set weights affair after winning her previous three starts, the most recent the Gold Coast’s Silk Stocking (Listed, 1400m) on a heavy 8 on May 10.
On Saturday, she lived up to that form in trouble-free style. Though slightly slow away from gate three, she quickly made ground to settle third on the fence, and moved smoothly into the lead at the 300m, establishing a winning break.
The four-year-old held on to win by 0.51 lengths from Peter Snowden’s Tashi (Sebring) at $6.50, with the Chris Waller-trained Firestorm (Satono Aladdin) third at $4.80 in a punters’ trifecta.
Bookmakers wound Floozie in to $6 for the Tatts Tiara, with Benedetta (Hellbent) and Firestorm equal favourites at $4.50 – but Gollan was oozing confidence over his mare’s chances after this success.
“This mare’s going to give it a helluva shake,” Gollan said of the Tiara. “Once mares are in good form like this, they can do anything.
“I wouldn’t swap her for anything else in two weeks.”
Floozie was bred by Victorian breeder Rob Crabtree, the second foal of his Blue Diamond Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m)-winning mare Catchy (Fastnet Rock) – who Crabtree sold for $800,000 at last month’s Inglis Chairman’s Sale as he sold off most of his stock and his Dorrington Farm.
Withdrawn from the 2022 Inglis Easter Yearling Sale, Floozie was raced by Crabtree and trained by Mick Price and Michael Kent, scoring two provincial wins from ten starts, before she was sold privately to James Mitchell and Yarraman Park, and transferred to Gollan early this year. She has now won all four starts for Brisbane’s 11-time premier trainer.
“She’s a really good mare this, and is going through her grades so well,” Gollan told Sky Thoroughbred Central.
“I said when she won her benchmark 70 here four runs ago that this mare will take part in this winter carnival. That’s exactly what she’s doing. Onwards to the Tiara now.
“It was very heavy ground at the Gold Coast the other day, and back on a good 3 today.
“She’s a really good mare. I can’t thank James and all the Mitchell team for sending her up here to us.”
Gollan said the win was justification for scratching Floozie from last Saturday’s Helen Coughlan Stakes (Listed, 1200m), also at Eagle Farm, after she drew a wide gate.
“We were a little bit longer between runs, but we got rewarded with a good barrier today which was all the difference,” he said.
Floozie is the second of five foals for Catchy, who now has a yearling filly named Turbocat (Pinatubo) in training for Crabtree with Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr, a weanling filly by Blue Point (Shamardal), and was last covered by Capitalist (Written Tycoon) in November.
Zoustar, standing this year for an unchanged $275,000 (inc GST), has the general sires’ title all but won with six Saturdays of the season remaining.
Floozie would become his 12th elite victor if she can lift the Tiara. The 14-year-old stallion now has 38 Australian Group winners, among 55 stakes winners from 743 runners at 7.4 per cent.
Worldwide, after shuttling five times to Britain, he has 47 Group winners and 69 stakes winners from 1,041 runners, at 6.6 per cent.