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Horses like Sweet Dolly do not come around very often – just ask Justin Stanley and Kevin Hansen.
The leading Queensland provincial jockey, Justin Stanley, reckons he has not ridden a horse like Sweet Dolly for the best part of two decades.
While for Kevin Hansen, who only has a couple of horses in work at his Rockhampton-based stable, he has never had a horse like his flashy filly Sweet Dolly.
"She showed signs from day one that she would be pretty smart but never anything like this racing on the Gold Coast in the Jewel," Hansen says.
"As a two-year-old, I have never had one like this and as long as she goes on with it, she is the best horse I have ever had."
Hansen, at 69 years of age and about to hit the big 70 in the near future, has been in the training game for decades, moving around the state over the years while also having a fluctuating number of horses in his barn from time to time.
He has trained city winners and won trainers premierships in the bush but that is likely to be an afterthought in his career if Sweet Dolly can become the champion of the QTIS Jewel 2YO (1200m) on Saturday on the Gold Coast.
The Real Saga filly is unbeaten in three trips to the races, braining them on debut at Townsville, showing her talent at Listed level at Eagle Farm a few weeks later before underlining her Jewel credentials on the Sunshine Coast last month.
A rider like Stanley is one of the best on the provincial circuit but rarely gets a chance on the biggest metropolitan stage of Queensland racing.
He does this Saturday afternoon and believes the sky is the limit for Sweet Dolly, declaring he is yet to get to the bottom of her talent, such has been her dominant performances so far.
With that, Stanley admits he may get a little nervous in the barriers come Saturday afternoon with his lack of big race experience of late, but says he is more filled with adrenaline and excitement.
"She is just a horse that fills you full of confidence, I have ridden her so many times now I feel like I know her like the back of my hand," Stanley said.
"She gives me the confidence so that outweighs the nerves.
"It has been a while since I have ridden a horse like her that gives you that confidence, especially down in Brisbane.
"You would not want to get off her for anything in the world, I know for sure she will try her best."
The Brisbane-based Stanley has cracked the 100 winners mark in a season a few times over the last five years and is on pace to do it again in 2020-21.
He cherishes every winner these days because he knows it could have all been over in 2003.
Stanley had a bad race fall on the Gold Coast where he broke his leg, had to have an ACL reconstruction, broke his collarbone, jaw in two places, fractured his skull and had bleeding to the brain and bruised lungs.
It took him almost a decade to feel like himself again on the racetrack and he returns to the scene again this week.
"Sweet Dolly is definitely the most exciting horse I have ridden in probably the last 15 years, since I got hurt," the 39-year-old Stanley said.
"It is good to get back on one like her.
"We really have not hit the bottom, that is the best part about her, there has not been a moment where I asked her for something, and she had nothing left.
"That is exciting.
"It has been 15-20 years since I have had a horse like this."
Central Queensland hoop Ash Butler pointed Stanley in the direction of his gun filly.
Butler first rode her in a jump-out but knew he was unlikely to get down in weight to ride her come race day, so he led Hansen the way of Stanley.
It is quite the process to get Sweet Dolly from the beef capital of Australia to Aquis Park on the Gold Coast.
Hansen and horse departed at 2am on Tuesday evening – Wednesday morning to arrive on the Glitter Strip mid-morning on Wednesday.
Sweet Dolly ran all over the track at Eagle Farm in December, but she looks to be more switched on and mature since, her trainer and jockey believe.
The two-year-old filly is unbeaten in three career starts and faces the toughest test of her young career so far.
Sweet Dolly cost just $1500 as a weanling and has gone on to bank almost $200,000 in three career starts, with every chance she walks away with another $300,000 come Saturday evening.
Hansen has only been in "Rocky" for just over a decade, previously training at Gladstone, where he won four trainers' premierships, then moving to Ipswich where he trained 20 horses on the Bundamba course including one of his best ever before this filly - The Winslow Boy.
Stanley described Hansen, his wife Donna and Sweet Dolly's owner, Michelle Walker, as the nicest people you would ever meet and is glad they have such an outstanding filly and hopes they still have a long ride ahead.
Hansen shares the training duties with Donna and says Sweet Dolly and their stables success is down to her efforts, just as much as it is his.
"It is great because it is a team effort," Hansen said.
"To get a horse like this to the Gold Coast from Rockhampton, that just does not happen without Donna's help.
"I could not do it by myself.
"She is the backbone of the operation for a long time, she does the stables and the feeding, she just does as much as me."
Walker breeds horses as well, giving the Hansen team a number of gallopersn for the last six years.
Stalemate and companion Casino Thoughts, a winner of 13 career races, has travelled south with Sweet Dolly and will go around in the 900m Open Handicap on Saturday afternoon.
