Angela Jones, Emily Lang showdown for Brisbane jockeys' title
Never has a female jockey won the Brisbane jockeys' premiership but history will be made at Doomben's midweek meeting as apprentice Lang (64 wins) tries to pull a rabbit out of a hat and chase down frontrunner Jones (66 wins).
Both ladies have posed in a picture for The Courier-Mail and Racenet, donning boxing gloves and pretending to whack each other, but this is a rivalry which is based on genuine friendship.
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'The other (jockey) girls have become just like family because I am sitting in the jockeys' room with them at least a couple of times a week with no phone and all I really do is chat to the other girls,' Jones said.
'Obviously I have had so much to do with Emily, because she works with Tony Gollan like I do.
'There is not really a day that goes by that I don't see her.
'We get very involved in each other's lives and we have always got on very well.'
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The close friendship between the two riding rivals was also on show when this journalist inadvertently called Emily Lang 'Emily Jones' in a recent story.
We texted Emily to apologise.
'Haha, that's okay, we often get mixed up,' Lang replied.
While Jones is the hot favourite to claim the jockeys' premiership on the final day of the metropolitan riding season, there have been periods in which Lang has held the lead and looked tough to chase down.
Both jockeys have also copped riding suspensions in recent times, adding another dimension to the mix.
Angela Jones and Emily Lang will face off on Wednesday for the Brisbane jockeys premiership. Picture: Grant Peters / Trackside Photography
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Lang, who was raised in Rockhampton, says the two great mates have steered clear of winding each other up as the race for the jockeys' premiership has intensified in recent months.
'We haven't really been sending each other texts or stirring each other up, because there has been a lot of pressure,' Lang said.
'It's been quite tricky because you always want your friends to do well, but at the same time we are both extremely competitive.
'When I was suspended I was swinging off Ange's tail and when Ange was suspended she was probably swinging off mine.
'It's been up and down, but what will be will be.'
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Horse racing is one of the few sports where men and women compete on an even footing.
Jones and Lang are at the forefront of the fabulously talented crop of young female riders around Australia, but they know they wouldn't be where they are without the trailblazing feats of other female jockeys who came before them.
'I think this (a female jockey winning the Brisbane riding premiership) has been coming for a while now,' Jones said.
'I think for the last ten years the female jockeys room has been pretty strong.
'Emily and I are probably lucky that we have had a lot of females before us pave the way and make it so much easier for us.'
Emily Lang (right) is looking for a knockout blow on jockeys premiership leader Angela Jones at Doomben on Wednesday. Picture: Grant Peters / Trackside Photography
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While Lang needs everything to go right to win a last-gasp premiership bid, she is already looking to the future.
She is putting the building blocks in place to ensure she can make a successful transition when making the sometimes difficult step from apprentice jockey to senior rider.
Great mate Jones will be there to help her along the way.
'I think for me, when I become a senior rider, it's about keeping doing the good things that I have been doing while I've been an apprentice,' Lang said.
'To be honest, some of the horses that I have been riding recently for Tony would probably still win if they didn't have a kilo and a half (her apprentice claim) off their backs.
'For me, I think it's just about staying consistent and keeping working as hard and I think the results will come.'
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While either Jones or Lang will be crowned Brisbane's champion rider at Doomben on Wednesday, the major celebration will come at the Teddy Bear's Picnic Family race day at Eagle Farm on Saturday.
Racing officials are flying the families of both jockeys to Brisbane for the day for a celebration lunch at the races and a formal presentation.
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