ESPERANZA A BIG CHANCE IN THE TOOWOOMBA GUINEAS

By Graham Potter | Thursday, September 24, 2026

The lightly raced three-year-old filly Esperanza is capable of making a return to the winners’ enclosure when she contests the Magic Millions Toowoomba Guineas Three-Year-Old Plate at Clifford Park on Saturday.

It would be a home-town victory for the Rex Lipp trained daughter of Spirit Of Boom, who won on debut back on February 7 as a two-year-old before following up with two successive runner-up finishes in the QTIS Jewel Prelude 2YO Fillies Quality Handicap over 1000m … and the $500 000 QTIS 2YO Jewel itself over 1200m.

In the Prelude, Esperanza lost out by just under a length to the more than useful Cheery Bombshell, who was in the middle of a run of three straight victories and who would go on to run fourth in the Group 2 Furious Stakes at Randwick.

In the Jewel itself, Esperanza was beaten by just over a length by the Liam Birchley trained Swift Dragon who went on to win the Capricornia Yearling Sale Classic QTIS 2YO.

Lipp set the bar higher for Esperanza for the final two starts of her first preparation and, while she did not manage to find a place in both the Listed Calaway Gal Stakes (won by Boomelli, whose current record stands at three wins from six starts) or the Group 2 Spirit Of Boom Stakes (won by Vantorix who has won all but one of his four career starts to date), she did enough in both of those assignments against some quality opposition to suggest that she retained plenty of untapped potential as she rounded off her two-year-old campaign which produced a win and those two second places from only five starts.

On Saturday Esperanza will make her first appearance as a three-year-old, fresh after a four month break from race action.

Two trials in late August and early September have brought positive results and, with the vastly experienced Lipp pulling the strings, it would seem fair to suggest that Esperanza will be cherry-ripe on the day. She did return victorious in her only first-up run to date.

Angela Jones, who partnered Esperanza in both the QTIS Jewel and the Calaway Gal, reunites with the Lipp trained filly after missing the ride in the Spirit Of Boom through injury.

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