Latest news with #JeffLloyd
News.com.au
2 days ago
- Sport
- News.com.au
Jeff Lloyd will be trackside to watch son Zac Llloyd's bid for back-to-back Stradbroke Handicap wins
Legendary jockey Jeff Lloyd hasn't been to the races in Queensland since his son Zac won his first Group 1 in last year's Stradbroke Handicap at Eagle Farm. But he and wife Nicola will be there with bells on this Saturday when Zac aims to become the first jockey to win back-to-back Stradbroke crowns since Jim Cassidy on Rough Habit in 1992. The Lloyds will be hoping history repeats itself, and Jeff isn't willing to tempt fate by staying away from Queensland's premier racetrack. Zac Lloyd will ride the Annabel and Rob Archibald -trained colt Bosustow in Queensland's greatest race over 1400m this weekend. 'Yeah I'll definitely be back,' Jeff Lloyd said shortly after son Zac had jumped on the colt for the first time at trackwork early on Tuesday morning. 'I haven't been back since last year. I don't go to the races any more. 'I might have gone once in Sydney when I went down to visit Zac. 'I much prefer to stay at home. I just feel like you see more on TV and you can sit and do your own thing.' The winner of 15 Group 1s all over the world before his retirement as a jockey in 2019, Jeff Lloyd now manages his sons Zac, who rides mainly in Sydney, and Gold Coast-based Jaden. Zac Lloyd said he phoned Rosemont Stud boss Anthony Mithen straight after Bosustow's six-length romp in the Group 3 Gold Coast Guineas (1200m) last month to request the Stradbroke ride and he was booked the next day. Bosustow was plain in the rescheduled Group 3 Fred Best Classic (1350m) last Wednesday when finishing sixth as winner Spicy Martini jagged a golden ticket into the Stradbroke. But Zac Lloyd isn't concerned, saying he has full faith in the Archibalds to have the colt peaking at exactly the right time. 'I was booked in early because I was very confident that he's the right horse for the Stradbroke,' said Lloyd, who will ride Bosustow at 51.5kg in the $3m Stradbroke. 'Obviously his Fred Best run was a bit below-par but good trainers don't peak their horses the start before. 'He's a pleasure to ride. He's still a colt so he holds a lot of value. 'If he can win a Group 1 then that will just boost his stallion potential. 'If he can get up on Saturday it'll be massive for myself, Annabel and Rob and his owners.' Lloyd still has fond memories of his maiden Group 1 victory on the Bjorn Baker-trained Stefi Magnetica last year at $16, especially with his parents watching on. 'The Stradbroke is Queensland's premier race so to win it once was good, but twice will be better,' he said on a cold Brisbane morning on Tuesday. 'It was a special day that. I had my parents on track and they don't normally go to the races. 'It's a day I won't forget and definitely the top win of my career so far. To get the opportunity to do it again is pretty special.'
News.com.au
09-05-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
Gold Coast trainer Toby Edmonds is chasing Group 2 glory on his home track with Spicy Martini
Eight years after achieving one of his greatest wins in the Magic Millions 2YO Classic on the Gold Coast, trainer Toby Edmonds has another golden opportunity for more glory at his home track with exciting three-year-old filly Spicy Martini. Veteran jockey Jeff Lloyd, at age 55 and in his first ride in the rich juvenile feature, steered then filly Houtzen to a $1.2 million payday for Edmonds and connections in the 2YO Classic in 2017. Now Edmonds, in partnership with co-trainer Stephen McLean, is eyeing the $200,000 Group 3 Gold Coast Guineas (1200m) on Saturday and then hopefully her grand final, the $3m Group 1 Stradbroke Handicap (1400m) at Eagle Farm on June 14. Racenet iQ members get full access to our Pro Tips section, where James and our team of professional punters provide their daily best bets. Spicy Martini, which has won three of her four races, can stake her claims as a Stradbroke contender on Saturday but with a rating of 83, she will need to win the Group 3 Fred Best Classic (1400m) at Eagle Farm on May 31 to score a ticket into Queensland's most prestigious race. 'That's always been our goal (the Stradbroke) but we'll take it race by race,' said Edmonds, who won the 2020 Stradbroke with Tyzone. 'Even if she gets beaten on the weekend we'll monitor the run, get the form done and see if it's worthwhile heading that way or we don't. 'I think she'd be well weighted in a Stradbroke.' Edmonds is heartened by the fact that a three-year-old filly could make such a powerful impact in the Stradbroke given what Bjorn Baker's mare Stefi Magnetica pulled off last year when she beat Bella Nipotina and Vilana in a nail-biter at $16 odds. 'If you look at Stefi Magnetica's form from last year, she was only placed in a Group 1 (Surround Stakes) and got a start,' he said. 'This filly has won two stakes races now and she's got enough prizemoney so hopefully everything maps out OK. 'Whatever she picks up on the way through is a bonus.' Kyle Wilson-Taylor retains the ride on Spicy Martini after they combined to win two Listed races - the Mode Plate (1200m) at Doomben in late November and the Mick Dittman Plate (1000m) on a soft track at Eagle Farm on April 26. Spicy Martini is a $7 chance to jag the Gold Coast Guineas from barrier one, behind favourite Emirate ($4.40), Wanaruah ($5), Zoubaby and Editing (both $6). She thrives with the sting out of the ground which should help on Saturday given the unpredictable Gold Coast track is likely to be rated a Soft 7. Edmonds paid just $8000 for Spicy Martini, out of Justify (USA), in an online sale and the filly has already racked up $341,000 in prizemoney. 'She's got a couple of good attributes. She has a good pedigree firstly,' Edmonds said. 'Secondly she's a good gate horse. She can be up on the speed or we can ride her quietly. 'She's got a lot of different attributes and she's versatile. If there's too much speed we can come back off and if there's no speed we can take it up and control it.'
