Lady Jones and Lievore went toe to toe in the Group III Powerflo Solutions Tesio Stakes (2040m) to round out a memorable Cox Plate Day at Moonee Valley.
Ridden by Jye McNeill for Stephen Brown, the 5-year-old Toronado mare Lady Jones lifted in the final strides to defeat the Epaulette matre Lievore by a short-half-head, with Mahisara mare Little Mix a length back in third.
Second in the Group II Stocks Stakes and Group II Queen Of The South Stakes, Lady Jones advanced her record to five wins, six seconds, and two thirds from 2o starts with earnings of $663,025.
“We bred her ourselves and it's been a long haul,” Brown said.
“I had doubts about the 2000 (metres), but she's proven that she can do it.
“We were gutted when she got beaten at Caulfield, but we put it down to the hard track.
“She' d only got shod that week, so she had a bit of trouble with her feet. We left the old shoes on her and she’s done the job.
“I talked to two form people, and one said go back, one said go forward, and then the go-back bloke said, no, then you should go forward. So that was the plan.
“A couple of people are sort of pushing me there (to the Matriarch Stakes), so we' ll see what happens.”
The daughter of Toronado is the best of two winners from as many to race for the winning Domesday mare Lady Slevoir, a half-sister to the Group III Geoffrey Bellmaine Stakes runner-up Belle et Riche (Rich Enuff).
Lady Slevoir has not had a foal since Lady Jones and was dropped from the Stud Book in 2022.
Lady Jones is the 40th black-type winner for Swettenham Stud’s Toronado (IRE).
