Superalloy relishes heavy conditions at Eagle Farm to break maiden

Superalloy had the benefit of a red-hot jockey Angela Jones and wet conditions to finally score his first win at Eagle Farm.

Superalloy ploughs through the mud to win the Listed Gold Edition and give jockey Angela Jones her third winner for the day. Picture: Grant Peters/Trackside Photography

Angela Jones emerged as the queen of the mud in a wet and wild day at Eagle Farm on Saturday, continuing her red-hot run of form to help Toowoomba trainer Rex Lipp break the long-time maiden status of Superalloy in the Listed Gold Edition Plate.

The former star apprentice, who has emerged as one of the leading senior riders in Brisbane, enjoyed a day out, landing three winners early in the card and said it was a case of the wetter the better for Superalloy, who boasts form behind the likes of Broadsiding in the winter.

• 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!

With wins aboard Queen Air (Benchmark 78, 1600m) and Mixed Signals (Benchmark 78, 1200m) already up her sleeve, Jones said she had a good gauge of the track when the Gold Edition came around to time her run perfectly aboard $6.50 chance Superalloy.

“I was always quietly confident with this fella because he is a real trier, I knew the worst the track got with the rain, the better he would go,” Jones said.

“He has a really efficient action, he is only a little pony, so a lot of people underestimate him but they didn’t realise how good he actually is.

“It’s very testing out there for all the horses at the moment.”

A tilt at the Magic Millions is off the cards for Lipp and Superalloy, as a home-bred who never went through a sales ring.

Long-time race favourite Scripted was scratched by trainer Matt Dunn earlier in the day when the track was downgraded to a Heavy 10, leaving him searching for options to get the unbeaten filly into the rich Magic Millions 3YO Guineas in a month’s time.

A super run from little Superalloy sees him break through for his first win in the Listed Gold Edition at Eagle Farm, and that's three winners for Ange Jones today!@BrisRacingClubpic.twitter.com/ugfzWJzwPF

— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) December 14, 2024

Kelly Schweida’s Hella Fast produced a flashing second-placed finish in the heavy conditions to push it into contention for the Magic Millions, with prizemoney now unlikely to be an issue.

It comes on the back of a golden run for Jones, who won the Listed Tails Stakes aboard Arts Object at $41 a week earlier and put two horses in Magic Millions contention for her former boss Tony Gollan.

Jones won the QTIS 2YO Handicap seven days earlier aboard Formula Rossa and was even better a fortnight ago with Hi Barbie, who got through the heavy track at Doomben to win the Listed Phelan Ready.

Former jockey Vishan Venkaya enjoyed sweet metropolitan success as a trainer earlier in the day after suffering sickening injuries in a race fall in 2021.

Venkaya had roughie New World Tapestry kick back under jockey Georgina Cartwright to win the Benchmark 68 Handicap (2200m).

Venkaya says he was lucky to be alive after the fall at the Sunshine Coast in 2021 which left him with a broken leg and fractured ribs.

Mudlark Millane stakes claim for step up in class

– Ben Dorries

Champion trainer Tony Gollan believes Millane is on the cusp of making a mark in a stakes race as the gelding dropped back in grade and ploughed through the sloppy Eagle Farm track.

Last seen finishing fourth of five in the Group 3 George Moore Stakes, Millane was strongly backed from $5 into $3.60 in the Class 6 Plate (1200m).

Drifting favourite Hell ($3.50) was shooting for five wins in a row had a hell of a time, finishing seventh and beaten more than nine lengths.

As persistent rain downgraded the track to a heavy (10), Gollan’s confidence levels grew with Millane.

Caulfield Cup winning jockey Vlad Duric announced his return to Queensland racing – after being sidelined with injury and following a stint in Melbourne with his jockey daughter Sage – as he won on Millane.

Millane right down the outside cruises to victory at Eagle Farm!@tonygollan | @BrisRacingClubpic.twitter.com/DA6u3x6BGa

— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) December 14, 2024

“This horse loves the (heavy) ground and he loves the Eagle Farm track,” Gollan said.

“The plan was not to over-complicate things too much, give this horse plenty of room, and he did the rest.

“I put him a little bit in the deep end when he was first-up, I just thought he was going really well.

“I think after this win, I will sneak him up to a stakes race again.

“He’s a nice horse, he’s on the cusp of going to that next level.

“The good thing about him, is when you strike a heavy track, he loves it.”

Meanwhile, Gollan believes he has an exciting new stable acquisition in former Lindsey Smith-trained mare Queen Air.

Millane surges through the mud to win at Eagle Farm. Picture: Grant Peters/Trackside Photography.

Queen Air, who ran third in the Group 1 VRC Oaks in 2022 behind She’s Extreme, started a drifting $4.40 chance in the BM78 Handicap (1600m) in her second start for Gollan.

The Eagle Farm track had already been downgraded to a Heavy 8 by the time of Queen Air’s race and Gollan knew the mare had “terrible wet track statistics” when racing in Victoria.

But she won on sheer class, coming from near the back of the field to power past her opposition.

Five-year-old Queen Air is now poised to line up in the Shoot Out (2100m) on December 28 at Eagle Farm to try to score a wildcard entry into the $1m Subzero on Gold Coast Magic Millions day in January.

“What she is doing on wet ground is just the tip of the iceberg, she wants races on good ground,” Gollan said.

Originally published as Superalloy relishes heavy conditions at Eagle Farm to break maiden