Eagle Farm trainer Kelly Schweida has exciting trio at Gold Coast but wary of interstate rivals

Kelly Schweida heads to the Gold Coast meeting with an exciting trio of horses in Group races but says the competition from interstate rivals is extremely strong.

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.

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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.

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“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.

Unbeaten filly Sunrays will content the Group 3 Ken Russell Memorial Classic. Picture: Grant Peters, Trackside Photography

“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.”

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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.

Consistent mare Miss Joelene has earned a shot at the Hollindale Stakes. Picture: Grant Peters/Trackside Photography

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.

Originally published as Eagle Farm trainer Kelly Schweida has exciting trio at Gold Coast but wary of interstate rivals