Veteran jockey Glen Colless was his usual easy-going self despite winning his biggest race in four years on Love You Lucy in the Dane Ripper Stakes at Eagle Farm.
Colless has several nicknames, including Joe Cool, which best suited him after the win in the Group Two race.
Love You Lucy started $41 but there have been few more popular wins among Queensland’s racing community.
Colless is one most well-liked jockeys in the state and the mare’s trainer Barry Squair has been among Queensland’s favourite sons for decades.
The last time Colless tasted major carnival success was on Malaguerra in the 2016 Group One Kingsford Smith Cup.
But he is no stranger to big-race results, having first come to prominence with his win on Mr Innocent in the 2000 Doomben 10,000.
Colless went on to dominate Queensland racing, winning three Brisbane premierships and many stakes races.
Originally from the NSW northern rivers region, Colless settled on the Gold Coast 20 years ago and is firmly entrenched there.
“I mainly ride at the Gold Coast on Saturdays these days. The back isn’t the greatest so I can manage it by cutting down on travel,” he said.
“But I still get a kick out of the competitiveness of big racing.”
Colless is now attached to the powerful Chris Waller stable on the Gold Coast where he is the main trackwork rider.
“I get to ride these nice horses (in trackwork) and occasionally on race day,” he said.
Squair, 79, was one of the leading riders on the Darling Downs for decades where he won the premiership four times.
He had a close association with legendary Toowoomba trainer Jim Atkins and rode trackwork on Group One winning gallopers such as Dalrello, Grey Affair and Just Now.
Originally from North Queensland, Squair as a jockey is estimated to have won about 20 Cups throughout Queensland.
“I never got to ride in these big races in Brisbane as a jockey. To win this today (as a trainer) is the biggest kick I will ever get,” he said.
