Amelia’s Jewel set to sparkle in Ascot’s Northerly Stakes
Owner Walsh hopes in-form filly will land inaugural Group 1 for him
Trainer Simon Miller and owner-breeder Peter Walsh are optimistic boom filly Amelia’s Jewel (Siyouni) can bring their breakthrough Group 1, provide a first in the southern hemisphere for French sire Siyouni (Pivotal), and confirm herself one of Western Australia’s hottest prospects of modern times in today’s Northerly Stakes (Gr 1, 1800m).
The three-year-old steps up to the top tier and open company for the first time in the $1.5 million weight-for-age feature, having won five from six and coming from second-last for a neck second in the Burgess Queen Stakes (Listed, 1400m) against her own sex, two runs back.
She restored her reputation last start by becoming the first horse in 44 years to complete Perth’s Group 2 double of the Karrakatta Plate (1200m) for two-year-olds in April and the WA Guineas (1600m); the latter with a slashing three-quarter-length victory coming from eighth at the 400-metre mark.
A daughter of mare Bumbasina (Canford Cliffs), a two-time winner in Ireland, with a gender-balanced 3Sx4D double-Danehill (Danzig) in her pedigree, Amelia’s Jewel was last night second-favourite in the 15-runner field for her first shot at older horses, at $3.30. The market for the Ascot feature was headed by eight-year-old warrior Cascadian (New Approach), at around $2.80 for the double-James team of Cummings and McDonald.
The Northerly – formerly the Kingston Town Classic but with a name change this year to honour a Perth great – shapes as a mouth-watering bout between young and old. Cascadian, with a 117-rating and jumping from barrier 12, and Amelia’s Jewel, on 93 and from gate one, were the only two at single-figure odds last night.
Another three-year-old, Guineas’ runner-up Bustler (Playing God), was at $10; four-year-old mare Treasured Star (Toronado), to be ridden by returning Perth hero William Pike, was at $11; Railway Stakes (Gr 1, 1600m) winner Trix Of The Trade (Trade Fair) was a $13 chance, while the Ciaron Maher and David Eustace-trained mare Steinem (Frankel), one of three visitors from eastern states, was at $15.
Amelia’s Jewel will be partnered as always by 47-year-old Patrick Carbery – said to be the only person to ride her in any setting since the first day he hopped on her as a two-year-old – as she closes a campaign which has set in motion plans for eastern states missions next year, targeting Melbourne’s All-Star Mile (1600m) and Sydney’s Golden Eagle (1500m).
She appeared back to her best in the Guineas, and while that was always framed as her grand finale of this campaign, Miller and Walsh reported she has only grown better since that run two weeks ago.
“She’s definitely got that X-factor,” Miller told ANZ Bloodstock News. “Everything she does at home is freakish. It’d be no surprise to see her reaching the heights you all hope for, but this is another good gauge for us about her ability.
“This is a Group 1, and you want to put a Group 1 beside her name, but the Guineas was the main target this prep, so this is a bit of a bonus, really. But that said, she’s done really well since the Guineas, and has actually gone to her peak since that run.”
Miller and Walsh explained that though their star filly had won first-up in the Belgravia Stakes (Listed, 1200m) on October 22, she was still slow to reach fitness this campaign.
“She was way behind the eight-ball, right from the word go,” Walsh said. “We had quite a cold winter over here, and she didn’t really do well in it. Early in the prep she wasn’t doing as well as we’d hoped, her coat didn’t come on and she melted away in the weight a bit.
“So, she was a bit flat, but Simon put her on a bit of a fattening diet and trained her up. She’s built up as the prep has gone on, and it looks like she’s improved since the Guineas. I wouldn’t say this race is an afterthought. It was always a case of – if she did well in the Guineas, we’d think about the Northerly; obviously, she did very well in the Guineas.”
With just six runs behind her, Miller said he was naturally still finding out about Amelia’s Jewel. From what she’d shown so far, though, she was at least measuring up well against the standard-setter for West Australian females of modern times, Arcadia Queen (Pierro), who won three Group 1s including this race in 2018 – after also winning the WA Guineas.
“I saw Arcadia Queen up close a lot,” Miller said. “I got the quinella in the Burgess Queen in 2018 [with Lady Cosmology and Flirtini] and Arcadia Queen ran third. But then she beat Last Cosmology into second in the Champion Fillies and the Guineas, and I chased her from then on.
“Amelia’s Jewel is building a similar profile. Our CV probably looks a bit better at the same stage, but that’s because we’ve raced at two and she didn’t, so it doesn’t mean we’re better than her.
“But certainly, we’ve got a good filly on our hands. Her great attributes are that she’s got a V8 engine with the brain to match. She’s a real intelligent type. Whatever you need her to do out on the track, she’ll do. If you work her with a slow one, she’ll go slow. If you want her to go quick, she’ll go quick.
“I don’t really know what her pet distance is yet. She’s bred to get a mile, and proved it when she stepped up to that distance and won the Guineas. She should be able to get 1800 metres too, because she was strong through the line that day.”
While barrier one could possibly be a drawback for a filly who tends to settle rearward, Miller was hopeful Carbery could plot a winning course, particularly as Amelia’s Jewel will carry only 50 kilograms. She’ll be attempting to become the third such lightly weighted three-year-old filly to take the race in five years, and the fourth in seven, after Kay Cee (Playing God) in 2019, Amelia’s Jewel the year before, and Perfect Reflection (More Than Ready) in 2015.
“The great thing is she’s got such a light weight, so Patrick could even have her a couple of spots closer to the lead than in the past,” Miller said. “Plus, the two of them have got an uncanny bond. Paddy rides her every morning. He won’t let anyone else on her, and it’s been that way since the first time he rode her. He thought from day one that she was something special.”
Walsh bought Bumbasina through Sydney-based, French-born agent Louis Le Metayer, at the Tattersalls’ July sale of 2018 for 75,000 guineas, to put to Siyouni in a southern hemisphere-timed cover. It came after Le Metayer took Walsh to see the stallion at the Aga Khan’s Haras De Bonneval in Normandy. The veteran breeder said he was “blown away” with what he saw in the shape of the two-time champion French sire, who has had seven top-level winners, all in the northern hemisphere, and three stakes-winners in Australia from 24 runners – a powerful 12.5 per cent.
Miller, 46, who learned his craft with Rob Griffiths in Melbourne and John O’Shea in Sydney, before branching out alone in 2008, has had five Group 1 placings from 36 attempts.
Walsh, 67, has had a long and frustrating run in Group 1s, but knows he probably now has his best prospect of breaking through.
“I’ve come very close. I’ve had seven seconds, two thirds and two fourths. Fifty years I’ve been trying. I can’t wait another 50 years, that’s for sure,” he said. “It’s a dream, I suppose, to get a Group 1, so if we win this one, I’ll be over the moon.”
The closest the meat baron has come to top-tier success has in fact been one of those third placings, when Achernar Star (Gingerbread Man) ran a three-quarter length third in this race in 2017 behind Pounamu (Authorized), who was ridden by Carbery.
“He probably owes me one, then,” Walsh said of the veteran jockey, who won the race for a second time last year on Regal Power (Pierro).
Cascadian, who joined Godolphin Australia from France in 2019, is seeking a third Group 1 – after eight minor placings at top level. He claimed his second such victory in April’s All Aged Stakes (1400m) at Randwick, and comes off a hard-finishing fifth in Alligator Blood’s (All Too Hard) Champions Mile (Gr 1, 1600m) at Flemington on November 5.
Ascot could present Amelia’s Jewel’s first look at anything other than good going, with a Soft 5 rating in place yesterday, but with fine weather forecast for today.