Flying Jess sets Qld starting price record

Melbourne filly Flying Jess has written herself into the record books in more ways than one with her win in the $2 million Magic Millions Guineas.

Starting at 100-1 she equalled the record for the longest priced winner in a Queensland feature race with 1977 Stradbroke Handicap winner Sir Wisp.

Flying Jess’s win also smashed the previous record for a long-priced winner at the Magic Millions carnival which belonged to Warrior Girl who started at 60-1 in the 2010 Magic Millions Sprint.

Flying Jess’s win also continued the miserable run of favourites in the Guineas with only two successful since the race as first run in 2001.

Syndicator Joe O’Neill, who paid $60,000 for Flying Jess, was one of the few who thought the filly could beat an all-star field and admitted he had backed her in a series of small bets leading into the race.

“She is the best filly I’ve ever had and she had run well in Sydney and then she worked sensationally up here,” O’Neill said.

Stewards weren’t as sure and asked connections to explain the improvement by Flying Jess who had not been placed at her previous six runs since winning the South Australian Sires’ Produce Stakes.

Trainer John Moloney said at her previous start at Canterbury on New Year’s Eve Flying Jess was only beaten 2-1/2 lengths.

He said she had been doing her best work at the end of the race and the step up to 1400m from 1250m suited the filly.