Popular jockey Les “Bubba” Tilley has just moved into a new home in Toowoomba and believes some great rides on Saturday could help bring in extra bucks for some extra mortgage payments.
The well-traveled Queensland jockey will ride Graeme Green's Rockhampton Master Jamie, a horse he knows well, in the Listed Sunshine Coast Cup (1400m) and among his other outings on Saturday is the X-factor Rookie two-year-old Show Mark.
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The unraced capital gelding won a trial and jumped by seven lengths, and also attracted a bid from a Hong Kong buyer.
Shows A Sign, trained by Toowoomba jockey Pat Webster, was given a $4.80 chance to win on his debut in the QTIS 2YO Handicap (1000m) on the Sunshine Coast in a race where Chris Anderson won the $500,000 The Debut , Lead Me On, is a $2.15 favorite.
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“This horse had a trial and a jump and won by seven lengths, and Communications has a bit of an opinion on him,” Tilley said.
“They were offered to sell him to Hong Kong and they turned it down because they wanted to keep him in the race.
“He's showing a lot of promise, so I'm really interested to see what he can do.”
Tilly returns to riding on Saturday after serving a negligent double riding suspension on King Of The Mountain day in Toowoomba on January 1.
On the day, Sir Jimmy rode to a gallant third behind Ruthfire in the $750,000 Sprint which was over 1200 metres, just short of the favorite distance of Rockhampton.
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Mr Jimmy was beaten at top weight of 60kg on the Sunshine Coast on Saturday in a race in which the seven-year-old was given a $12 chance on TAB.
Tilly insists the weight won't stop Mr Jimmy as he races up to his ears.
“I know he's carrying some weight, but the weight doesn't hold him back,” Tilley said.
“He won with 65.5kg on his backstroke over a mile.
“He's an easy horse to ride, you just have to know when to go and when not to go.
“If he gets in front, it's very difficult to get past him.
“He was fantastic in King Of The Mountain, maybe he wanted more distance but he was really bold.
“He was beaten by only half a length by Rothfire who won the Group One.
“I think he has a great chance on Saturday.”
Originally published as Les Tilley chases Sunshine Coast winners to help pay for new house
