Latest news with #MissJoelene
Herald Sun
19-05-2025
- Sport
- Herald Sun
2025 Doomben Cup: Jockey Cejay Graham to ride Miss Joelene
Don't miss out on the headlines from Horse Racing. Followed categories will be added to My News. Rejuvenated jockey Cejay Graham joked that she would have to be 'carried' to the weigh-in if she could win this week's $1 million Group 1 Doomben Cup (2000m) on 50-1 shot Miss Joelene in just her second attempt at Group 1 glory. A 10-day suspension has seen Graham out of action since a wet and wild Hollindale Stakes Day on the Gold Coast on May 10. On that day she rode Miss Joelene to an admirable fourth place behind star trio Antino, Fawkner Park and Kovalica in the Group 2 Hollindale Stakes (1800m). And despite Brisbane trainer Kelly Schweida having an array of top jockeys from down south to choose from, he and Miss Joelene's owner Darren Wilson have kept their faith in Graham to ride the four-year-old mare in the Doomben Cup. • PUNT LIKE A PRO: Become a Racenet iQ member and get expert tips – with fully transparent return on investment statistics – from Racenet's team of professional punters at our Pro Tips section. SUBSCRIBE NOW! It will be Graham's second crack at a major after she rode the Gary Portelli-trained gelding Kintyre to ninth in last year's $1.5m Epsom Handicap (1600m) at Randwick. 'I'm still a freshie at it,' Graham said about her Group 1 experience. 'It'll be fantastic to ride in one up here in Queensland and even better to get that opportunity for Kelly. 'I had hoped that I'd be able to stick with her throughout her preparation because I knew she was aiming towards that sort of line (Doomben Cup).' Asked what it would mean to win a Group 1 for her biggest supporter Schweida, who has two majors under his belt, Graham said: 'I think I'd have to get carried back in. I'd be very emotional, purely because of Kelly. 'I don't think you could make a Group 1 extra special but I reckon that would do it.' Queensland star Antino ($3.50) and daring frontrunner Pride Of Jenni ($4) head the Doomben Cup market but Miss Joelene ($51) proved in the Hollindale Stakes – albeit on a heavy track – that she was more than capable of springing an upset. • 'Her best is good enough to beat anyone': Is Pride Of Jenni the horse to end Craig Newitt's Group 1 drought? 'She ran an absolute cracker on that bottomless track at the Gold Coast the other day so I don't think she could be going any better heading into the Doomben Cup,' Graham said. 'It's a very exciting time. I said to Darren (Wilson) 'I based my suspension around her' and he said 'No you didn't'. I said 'no I did, I'm telling you, she is what I'm most looking forward to'.' Graham is hoping for a track in the soft range at Doomben on Saturday and given the weather forecast of showers this week in Brisbane, she may well get her wish. Plenty of roughies have saluted at massive odds already this winter carnival and Graham isn't too fazed about Miss Joelene's $51 odds for the Doomben Cup, especially given the mare's superb record on soft ground (6:3-1-1). 'With the way the tracks might be, you just never know,' she said. 'One thing about her, she didn't love the track the other day (at the Gold Coast) but she still performs well on any surface and I think that extra distance will be right up her alley.' Originally published as 2025 Doomben Cup: Jockey Cejay Graham to ride Miss Joelene for trainer Kelly Schweida
News.com.au
19-05-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
2025 Doomben Cup: Jockey Cejay Graham to ride Miss Joelene for trainer Kelly Schweida
Rejuvenated jockey Cejay Graham joked that she would have to be 'carried' to the weigh-in if she could win this week's $1 million Group 1 Doomben Cup (2000m) on 50-1 shot Miss Joelene in just her second attempt at Group 1 glory. A 10-day suspension has seen Graham out of action since a wet and wild Hollindale Stakes Day on the Gold Coast on May 10. On that day she rode Miss Joelene to an admirable fourth place behind star trio Antino, Fawkner Park and Kovalica in the Group 2 Hollindale Stakes (1800m). And despite Brisbane trainer Kelly Schweida having an array of top jockeys from down south to choose from, he and Miss Joelene's owner Darren Wilson have kept their faith in Graham to ride the four-year-old mare in the Doomben Cup. It will be Graham's second crack at a major after she rode the Gary Portelli -trained gelding Kintyre to ninth in last year's $1.5m Epsom Handicap (1600m) at Randwick. 'I'm still a freshie at it,' Graham said about her Group 1 experience. 'It'll be fantastic to ride in one up here in Queensland and even better to get that opportunity for Kelly. 'I had hoped that I'd be able to stick with her throughout her preparation because I knew she was aiming towards that sort of line (Doomben Cup).' Asked what it would mean to win a Group 1 for her biggest supporter Schweida, who has two majors under his belt, Graham said: 'I think I'd have to get carried back in. I'd be very emotional, purely because of Kelly. 'I don't think you could make a Group 1 extra special but I reckon that would do it.' Queensland star Antino ($3.50) and daring frontrunner Pride Of Jenni ($4) head the Doomben Cup market but Miss Joelene ($51) proved in the Hollindale Stakes – albeit on a heavy track – that she was more than capable of springing an upset. Antino wins the TAB Hollindale Stakes in dominant fashion! ðŸ'Š @tonygollan — SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) May 10, 2025 • 'Her best is good enough to beat anyone': Is Pride Of Jenni the horse to end Craig Newitt's Group 1 drought? 'She ran an absolute cracker on that bottomless track at the Gold Coast the other day so I don't think she could be going any better heading into the Doomben Cup,' Graham said. 'It's a very exciting time. I said to Darren (Wilson) 'I based my suspension around her' and he said 'No you didn't'. I said 'no I did, I'm telling you, she is what I'm most looking forward to'.' Graham is hoping for a track in the soft range at Doomben on Saturday and given the weather forecast of showers this week in Brisbane, she may well get her wish. Plenty of roughies have saluted at massive odds already this winter carnival and Graham isn't too fazed about Miss Joelene's $51 odds for the Doomben Cup, especially given the mare's superb record on soft ground (6:3-1-1). 'With the way the tracks might be, you just never know,' she said. 'One thing about her, she didn't love the track the other day (at the Gold Coast) but she still performs well on any surface and I think that extra distance will be right up her alley.'
News.com.au
08-05-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
Eagle Farm trainer Kelly Schweida has exciting trio at Gold Coast but wary of interstate rivals
Kelly Schweida will deploy a trio of talented horses in different age brackets in Group races on Hollindale Stakes day but concedes he is worried about the interstate invasion. The Group 1-winning horseman has unbeaten two-year-old filly Sunrays (Group 3 Ken Russell Memorial Classic), exciting three-year-old Hella Fast (Group 3 Gold Coast Guineas) and in-form four-year-old Miss Joelene (Group 2 Hollindale Stakes) on the Gold Coast on Saturday. • PUNT LIKE A PRO: Become a Racenet iQ member and get expert tips – with fully transparent return on investment statistics – from Racenet's team of professional punters at our Pro Tips section. All have drawn double-digit barriers but that may not necessarily be a disadvantage if the Gold Coast track chops up, with rain potentially on the way Friday and Saturday. Wily Eagle Farm trainer Schweida knows what it takes to fire on home soil when the big boys come to Queensland, having scored hometown Group 1s with Miss Cover Girl and Nova Star. But even though he is sure his trio of Group horses are a talented bunch, he admits he is worried about the interstate force. 'These are some good horses of mine, but how good are they when the (southern) opposition arrives on Saturday?' Schweida said. 'These horses from interstate, they just seem to be jumping out of the woodwork. 'These horses of mine all look good when they are racing at their local level in Queensland. 'But all of a sudden you look at some of the nominations for winter carnival features and you think some of these horses are bloody strong, they are jumping out of trees. 'There seems to be a carnival on every 10 minutes. 'As for the barriers for my horses on Saturday, I really don't like bad barriers. 'Sometimes, people say it is good to be out there if the track plays a certain way. 'But all the other horses who draw inside, they want to get out there too so that pushes you even wider. 'Those trainers and jockeys have the same theory to get off the fence.' Betting markets have two-year-old Sunrays the best of Schweida's three Group contenders, with the winner of three from three a well-backed $4.40 chance behind $1.85 Peter Snowden-trained favourite Beadman in the Ken Russell Memorial. Schweida is wary his filly did a lot in her first campaign and has not nominated her for the Group 1 JJ Atkins (1600m) on Stradbroke Handicap day. However Schweida is confident she can make her presence felt on Saturday and also potentially in the Group 2 BRC Sires' Produce Stakes later this month. Hella Fast, a young gelding with untapped ability, is a $23 chance in the Guineas where southern invaders dominate the market. Miss Joelene appears a chance of conjuring a knockout blow in the Hollindale where she is $34 in betting. The four-year-old mare is improving all the time and covered more ground than the early settlers when finishing runner-up over 1600m last start in the Listed Brisbane Mile. She handles all racing surfaces and was impressive when scoring the $500,000 The Wave over 1800m on the Sunshine Coast in January. 'She has probably earned her spot in this race,' Schweida said. 'She handles the Gold Coast track, she can run the trip and she can go well on wet or dry tracks. 'She has got a lot of ticks, it is just if she has the class to contend in a race like this.' Meanwhile, Schweida isn't losing sleep over the performance of potential Stradbroke Handicap contender El Morzillo who resumed last Saturday and was beaten more than six lengths in the Victory Stakes. 'She was a little bit disappointing, but we had to go back from bad gate and they ripped home pretty quickly,' Schweida said of El Morzillo, who won a $1m restricted sprint at Flemington in March.
