Girl power wins for Woorree trainer Jodie Liakousis

When it comes to horses, Jodie Liakousis loves only the girls.

She likes their toughness, quirks and “give you all” characteristics.

And in the case of Mikimoto Gift, an ability to back up quickly.

“Plus geldings are big sooks,” the Woorree trainer said.

It was an all-girls affair in the penultimate race at Utakarra racecourse last week, when Mikimoto Gift — aka Miki — held off Geraldton horse of the year Trade Talk by a whisker to win.

“It was a bit short (1120m) for Trade Talk but, to beat the horse of the year, I’ll take that,” Liakousis said.

Remarkably, it was the third start in just 10 days for Miki.

The seven-year-old brown mare was second on Geraldton Cup day and runner-up again at Dongara on Easter Saturday.

Despite such, the mare — who Liakousis races on lease with her sister Tracy, strapper Tania Edwards and family friends John Cousins and Matt Wayhurst — jumped at 14/1.

“We were so happy, it was awesome,” Liakousis said.

“She’s pulled up great and the trick is to keep her fresh. Being a sprinter, once they’re happy and healthy, they just keep ticking over.

“We were going to send her to the paddock after Dongara but thought there may be one more there.

“She will now go to the paddock for between two and three months.

“We will aim her at one more season in Geraldton (which starts in October) but she will tell us if she wants to keep going.

“Mares are pretty easy to read. She will be off to the breeding barn when she’s had enough of racing.”

Besides Mikimoto Gift, Liakousis, who rents a property in Woorree and cleans houses for an income, races You Are Idyllic.

“She’s a beautiful little filly who started the (Geraldton) season with a win and a place but then things went wrong, bad barriers, running into horses and ... so she went to the paddock,” she said.

“I’ve won a Wednesday race at Belmont with Bite the Dust and another mare, Aptodeti, was placed in a (Batavia) Sprint here and won some races.

“Sure, they can be frustrating when they come into season, and other things happen, but I love working with mares.”

The win of Liakousis ended a good day for women trainers, with Sarah Childs winning the first three races on the card (Approach, Chasing the Ace, Crypto) and Julia Martin the fourth with Galazy Blaze.