Looking magnificent, Abounding displayed a golden sheen as she paraded at Robert Heathcote’s stable in the lead-up to the Stradbroke Handicap. However, that prestigious race was not the intended target, with the Group 1 Tattersall’s Tiara (1400m) at Eagle Farm on Saturday now the primary goal for the five-year-old mare. The Tiara presents Abounding with an opportunity to improve upon her second-place finish from the 2025 edition.
“She’s always been a good type and she’s healthy and she’s happy,” Heathcote explained. “She’s eaten well and she’s working well. We’d aimed for this even when I took her down to Sydney in March, we just wanted to put a fitness run into her and to freshen her up for the carnival.”
Abounding finished 14th in Queensland’s most significant race, won by Spicy Martini over 1400m on June 13. Despite the unplaced finish, she was only six lengths off the victor, and the heavy track conditions were a significant impediment.
“The Stradbroke was a speed bump on an unsuitable track for her but I think she ran ok. She’s done well and we haven’t done much with her since that run as that would have topped her off fitness wise.”
“I just hope we get a track that is not too wet. I think it is a mistake that a lot of people make with Eagle Farm track in that when it gets wet it shouldn’t be graded soft five or six, or heavy eight or nine. It should be the amount of shiftiness because it gets so shifty. Either a horse can handle that or they can’t. If we get a Good 4 for or a Soft 5, I think she can go one better than last year.”
Abounding’s victory in the BRC Sprint on May 23 made her the first mare to win the event since Red Tracer in 2010. She will be reunited with jockey Tim Clark for the Tiara, with the pair currently rated at $7 in the ante-post markets.
“Tim knows his stuff and they just get the job done, those top Sydney boys,” Heathcote added.
While She’s Got Pizzazz was the initial $4 favourite, she will not be competing. Grahame Begg’s Splash Back now holds favouritism at $4.40.
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