The Chris Waller team is hoping that Firestorm will get race conditions to suit in the 1,400-meter (about seven-furlong) Tattersall's Tiara (G1) at Eagle Farm Racecourse June 28. Waller's assistant, Charlie Duckworth, believes the 4-year-old mare has the right profile for the race but needs a genuine pace to produce her best. The Satono Aladdin mare finished strongly when third to Floozie in the Dane Ripper Stakes (G2) last start.
"She has got exceptional form behind Lady Shenandoah in the Coolmore (Classic), and then in the Doncaster Mile they just didn't go quick enough for her to feature. She needs a bit of a tempo on," Duckworth said. "Her first-up run the other day was brilliant. It wasn't a very hard run either so she has bounced through that. She went to the farm for a couple of days and came back and she has done really well."
James McDonald will be aboard Firestorm for the Tiara and has the chance to tie the Australian record for most group 1 wins in a season if he and his mount can win. McDonald has earned 15 group 1 wins so far and, as the last group 1 of the season, the Tiara is his final chance of the 2024-25 term to tie Malcolm Johnston's record of 16 top-level victories set during the 1979-80 season.
Coco Sun Ready for Group 1 Return
Last year's South Australian Derby (G1) winner Coco Sun will make her return to action in the Tattersall's Tiara Saturday. The Tony and Calvin McEvoy-trained mare hasn't raced since last year's Melbourne Cup Carnival and will carry the Yulong silks for the first time after the operation forked out AU$1.2 million for the mare at the Inglis Chairman's Sale last month.
"She's great," Calvin McEvoy told Racing.com. "She went through the Chairman's Sale, and Mr. Zhang and his team bought her and were kind enough to leave her with us. She's been up on the Sunshine Coast. She's ready to run, we had her at the races a couple of weeks ago and decided not to run on the very firm track. She loves getting her toe in, hopefully they get a bit of rain going into this weekend."
Frosted Filly Looking for a Winter Warmer in Tiara
A strong push from top jockey Kerrin McEvoy has convinced connections of Arctic Glamour to roll the dice and back the mare up in Saturday's race. Co-trainer Sterling Alexiou was initially hesitant to press on to the final group 1 of the season after the 4-year-old daughter of Frosted finished down the field in the Dane Ripper Stakes June 14, but McEvoy saw merit in the performance and encouraged the team to continue.
"I gave Kerrin every option not to run her there and he thought we'd be crazy not to," Alexiou said. "He was happy to stick with her. He thought there was quite a bit of merit to her run the other day on a track where you couldn't make much ground."
The run was also Arctic Glamour's first since March, and Alexiou expects her to improve sharply. While the mare hasn't won since downing Joliestar in listed company Oct. 14, 2023, she has been placed in three group 2 events, including last year's Golden Pendant (G2) over the same trip as Saturday's assignment.
"She is a long time between wins but she has got an abundance of ability on her day and a race like that wouldn't be beyond her if things fell her way," Alexiou said.
