Complete Jewel Race Day coverage at the Gold Coast Turf Club
The Odyssey has done the 2YO and 3YO Jewel double in successive years. Keep up to date with all the news and results from the event here.
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UPDATE:
5.52pm.
The Edmonds Racing stable has finished the Jewel Race Day with a double, courtesy of a last-race win by Peppi La Few.
Jockey Brad Stewart managed to secure his second straight win with the four-year-old gelding in the Class 6 Plate (1400m).
It came shortly after Usmanov won the Open Handicap and they came within a nose of having a third when Grey Missile was pipped on the line.
“Even though we drew horribly we decided to try and mirror what we did at Eagle Farm, or what Brad did at Eagle Farm,” Toby Edmonds said.
“He did it tough again today and he was far too good.
“This horse might have turned a corner, he has always had really good ability.
“Now with the new racing pattern possibly we will see where he goes from here.”
5.25pm
HORSE owner Tony Khoury forgot all the problems in the world for a split moment when Snitch won the Goldmarket.
Khoury had to wait a few anxious moments as judges deliberated on a photo finish between the Tony Gollan-trained Snitch and Edmonds Racings’ Grey Missile before leaping into the air upon discovering he won.
“I didn’t think he got there on the line but then I watched the replay and it was closer than I thought,” Khoury said.
“It was like when Mr Markou won the (2019 Magic Millions Country) Cup.
“It was an unbelievable ride (by Baylee Nothdurft), I’m so stoked.
“Don’t worry about all the stuff going on in the world at the moment, I forgot about it.”
Khoury, who isn’t listed in the connections that state the owner as Ms I Khoury, said the confidence gained by Snitch in his last-start win at Eagle Farm played a key role in the win.
“Tony has done a fantastic job with this horse,” Khoury said.
“He is a horse who doesn’t hold too much condition and he has done a great job.”
Nothdurft said he was sick the entire week leading into the race meeting where he had eight rides on the nine-race card, riding as low as 54kg.
4.45pm
“HE is a happy horse who just loves racing.”
That simple comment is what sums up The Odyssey who has done the 2YO and 3YO Jewel double in successive years.
The Odyssey dominated Saturday’s $300,000 3YO Jewel at Aquis Park from start to finish, giving jockey Stephanie Thornton her third win from as many starts on the horse and another major win for trainer Kelly Schweida.
“He has been brilliant for me. I’m lucky for the opportunity to ride him today,” Thornton said.
“He does everything right, puts himself there and takes bad luck out of the equation. He is a happy horse and just loves racing.
“He has a brilliant turn of foot when he uses it. I have found he has a tendency to lay out which, being how the track is today (soft), it didn’t worry me too much because you want to be at least five off the fence. He made the race his and took it out from the start.”
Schweida’s wife Vera owns part of the horse and the trainer joked that she might share some of the prizemoney with him.
Schweida said The Odyssey would take a break before preparing for the Winter Carinval where he will likely feature in an 1100m race.
Gem Of Scotland was hte $2.60 favourite going into the race but broke down in running.
4.01pm.
TRAINER Trent Edmonds says the patience of Usmanov’s owners could land them success at the Winter Carnival.
Usmanov continued his ascension through the racing ranks with a win in Saturday’s Open Handicap (900m) for father-son training duo Toby and Trent Edmonds.
The four-year-old gelding was bought for $350,000 at the 2017 Magic Millions Yearling Sale in partnership with Aquis and other connections.
He didn’t debut until nearly two years later and has been slowly building on the win in his maiden appearance back in October, 2018.
On Saturday he took further steps forward, travelling well before pushing past his rivals in the final stages.
“As soon as he jumped and travelled outside of Boom Chicka Boom I thought they would have to be pretty good to beat him,” Trend Edmonds said.
“I’m just wrapped, he is a horse we have always thought was highly promising and he is finally coming of age now.
“We have given him a lot of time and I must thank all the owners for that. They will be duly rewarded, hopefully in the winter.”
The Edmonds duo are some of the most animated trackside, traditionally taking their positions on the fence near the finishing shoot where Trent got airborne on Saturday.
It’s not a superstition they believe will change the outcome, and Trent said he got the gene for the cheer from his father.
“We just love it.”
Trent Edmonds said Usmanov would be aimed at the Bat Out Of Hell in six weeks, partly because he wants a motorbike.
3.17pm
IT was a win everyone but the trainer behind Kisukano and the man riding it thought couldn’t happen.
Rothfire’s name was all but etched on to the 2YO Jewel trophy going into Saturday but the $1.03 favourite who was meant to leave the field in her wake was forced to watch the hoofs of another for the first time as Kisukano secured the win in the $500,000 race.
“They have been talking a lot about Rothfire and not a lot about us,” Toowoomba trainer Michael Nolan said.
“She had a good week up there in Toowoomba, had a good gallop on Tuesday.
“I don’t ever come down here to these sorts of races that confident but I just thought she was going super and looked super.
“(Jockey) Mark (Du Plessis) was confident from the first time he got on her and then the second time he got on when she won easy (at Doomben).
“He was confident all the way along. I didn’t want to dampen his spirits by saying anything but look she was super today. We love her. I can’t say enough about the horse really.”
Nolan said Kisukano would have a break before returning in four to six weeks.
2.30pm.
MAGNUFIGHTER is 33 runs into his career but the gelding hasn’t stopped improving.
The five-year-old won Saturday’s Gold Coast Stakes (1800m) at Aquis Park, holding off a late charge from Gresham and Eric The Eel who were making ground.
“He just keeps improving every run,” trainer Gary Duncan said.
“He had a perfect run today. He had a bit of cover, could sit back and I wasn’t fazed.
“(Jockey Dale Smith) might have got there a bit early but he still won.”
Matthew McGillivray rode Gresham and said he couldn’t fault the gelding.
“He tracked superbly,” McGillivray said.
“I couldn’t push him out early but I’m stoked with the run.”
2pm
Trainer Will Hulbert says he will have to have a drink and think about where he takes Moonshine Lady after her dominant win at the Jewel Race Day.
The four-year-old mare scored the field in the Fillies & Mares BenchMark 72 Handicap (1200m) at the Gold Coast to deliver her third straight win from as many starts for the Hulbert stable.
“I thought I’d take a leaf out of Peter Moody’s book and let fast horses run fast,” Hulbert said.
Hulbert praised the ride of apprentice hoop Adin Thompson, taking a cheeky jab at the jockey for keeping the whip in his left hand when rolling back to the inside.
“I saw his ride in race one (on Perfect Aim) and said do that on Moonshine Lady and I’ll kill you,” Hulbert joked.
“He got around good and rode it really lovely.
“She is a high cruising speed horse but she was going to be hard to catch.”
1.41pm.
GOLD Coast trainer Gillian Heinrich says Fuji Flyer is a nice horse but her big hopes for the Jewel Race Day rest in Replication for the $300,000 3YO Jewel.
Fuji Flyer finished second in the BenchMark 72 Handicap (1200m) and Heinrich will now turn her attention to the 3YO race.
Replication was originally the third emergency but has got a start.
“I really like (Replication),” Heinrich said.
“Whether we bit off more than we can chew, I’ll tell you after the race. It’s big prizemoney, he has been really good this prep so we will give it a go.
“Hopefully we are sipping champagne together after the race.”
1.35pm
MOTION Granted has overcome his struggles with wet tracks with a win on Jewel Race Day but it was the run of The Candy Man moments earlier that captivated him most.
The Candy Man’s chances of taking on the Group One Doncaster Mile on April 4 hit a snag on Saturday when a public gallop between races one and two with one of Michael Costa’s horses didn’t go to plan.
“I was a little disappointed in (The Candy Man’s) work,” Baldwin said.
“Michael’s horse had plates on, we had shoes but I was a bit disappointed.
“We are going to go over him and make sure everything is right. We will wait and see.”
The gelding had the poorest run of his career when he finished sixth at the Magic Millions Trophy on January 14, with Baldwin later discovering he pulled a muscle in his rump during the race.
Baldwin has previously said if The Candy Man isn’t ready for the Doncaster, to be held at Randwick, then he would set him for the Brisbane Winter Carnival.
Motion Granted won the BenchMark 72 Handicap (1200m) with Jake Bayliss in the saddle, holding off Gillian Heinrich’s Fuji Flyer and Kelly Schweida’s Magic Fox in the straight.
The horse had previously been unable to secure a win from three runs on heavy tracks and 14 starts on soft ones, placing second five times on the latter.
“He had a good strike rate for places on the soft,” Baldwin said.
“He did fail on the heavy but it was a different track. He has been fit and well and he is back in his class. He has a good owner and he is a good honest horse.”
1.10pm
OWNERS are being restricted from having contact with trainers and jockeys at the Jewel Race Day in an effort to prevent industry participants getting coronavirus.
Connections are usually permitted access to the mounting yard and winners traditionally get photos with the horse and jockey post-race.
But they are being kept to the stands and only given limited access to the yard if they win, keeping clear of jockeys coming off the horse.
12.54pm:
MOUNTBATTEN has paid his way his racing courtesy of a win in the opening race of the Jewel Race Day on the Gold Coast.
The four-year-old gelding won his fourth race, from just 12 starts, for Gatton trainer Leanne McCormack by swooping home to win the 1300m Class 4 Plate at Aquis Park on Saturday.
McCormack said Mountbatten had been nothing short of terrific for the stable, crediting jockey James Orman’s ability to navigate through a heavy track after angling wide from the final turn.
“James rode him good the last three rides so we kept him on and he knows the horse now,” McCormack said.
“(Mountbatten) has a few traits about him and Jimmy has worked him out.
“Jimmy said the fence was going to be off. It is pretty wet. He went for a walk on it earlier and said he would come out wide so I left it up to him.”
Mountbatten started his current preparation on the Gold Coast in December and won over 1350m at Doomben second-up before dropping back in grade following two more runs in Brisbane.
He was bought for $80,000 at last year’s Magic Millions Yearling Sale and has now won $83,900 in prizemoney.
Orman said he went into the race confident.
“It looked his race on paper. He was back in grade so it was a good win,” he said.
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