Sunrays heads for well-earned spell after ending successful campaign with victory in Show A Heart at Eagle Farm

Connections will resist any temptation of testing classy filly Sunrays in next week’s Group 1 JJ Atkins after her win in the Show A Heart at Eagle Farm.

Sunrays has ticked the 1500m box after winning the Show A Heart at Eagle Farm on Saturday. Picture: Trackside Photography

Champion jockey Tommy Berry believes classy filly Sunrays would have been competitive in next Saturday’s Group 1 JJ Atkins but unfortunately he won’t get to find out.

The Kelly Schweida-trained Sunrays will now go for a spell after winning the Listed Show A Heart for two-year-olds over 1500m at Eagle Farm 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. SUBSCRIBE NOW!

Schweida then grabbed a double early in the card, with Cejay Graham piloting $20 chance Vodka Martini to victory in the 1000m Lightning Handicap, ahead of Austmarr ($7) and the Schweida-trained Metalart ($6)

Owner Peter Moran may have been tempted to run her in the JJ Atkins (1600m) but he and Schweida will stick to their guns and send Sunrays for a rest.

Asked if the supremely gifted filly, who has now won five of her six races, could have been competitive in the JJ Atkins, Berry didn’t hesitate in his response: “If she didn’t run today then yes.

“The aim was to run today and then go to the paddock. But running today, I felt like she was on the way down now. I don’t think she was at her best today.

“She was a little bit flat in the way she raced and she didn’t travel up that well for me off the bridle so she’s got improvement

“At her best, if she’d missed today and had the extra week in between runs, for her to run top three (in the JJ Atkins) wouldn’t have been out of her means.”

☀️ Sunrays adds the Listed Show A Heart to her win list at Eagle Farm!@schweidaracing@[e-mail]/i0mg0YKGVd

— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) June 7, 2025

It would have been tough for Sunrays to back-up just seven days later in a long campaign that started in late January and finished with Saturday’s mighty effort when the $3.20 favourite beat Jenni Gone Bonkers ($10) and Navy Pilot ($5.50) on a Soft 5 track.

“She’ll be going straight for a spell now, so that was a great way to sign off her prep,” Schweida said.

“It was a great win, I don’t think I’ve seen a jockey look more confident than Tommy did.

“He was pretty adamant she would be hard to beat, but she still had to tick the 1500m box and also the Eagle Farm box today.

“She’s just so tough and she’s done it all off her first prep, which is why we elected not to take her to the Group 1 next week (JJ Atkins). She’s done a super job.”

Sunrays will be sent for a spell after winning the Show A Heart. Picture: Trackside Photography

Berry said he felt lucky to pick up the ride from regular jockey Cejay Graham, with the top Sydney hoop guiding her to wins in the Group 3 Ken Russell Stakes (1200m) on the Gold Coast and the Listed Bill Carter Stakes (1350m) at Doomben last month.

“Cejay had done a really good job on her before I picked up the ride,” he said.

“She gave me some really good insight into what she was like to ride, so that made things much easier for me.

“She’s a lovely progressive filly, and I still think the best is yet to come with her.

“If you look at her frame she probably hasn’t filled into it yet. She’s still a bit narrow but there’s nothing wrong with her heart, she had to dig deep today.

“It’s very exciting to see what she can do over the spring.”

■ ■ ■ ■ ■

Stokes misses win to catch flight

Phillip Stokes missed Zaszou’s victory in the Magic Millions Helen Coughlan Stakes at Eagle Farm on Saturday after having to make a mad dash to the airport to catch a flight.

But the Pakenham trainer said he was confident the four-year-old mare was on the right track for the Group 1 Tattersall’s Tiara (1400m) at Eagle Farm on June 28.

Stokes listened to the race on the radio as $9 chance Zaszou edged out Tashi ($5) and Midnight In Tokyo ($24) in the 1200m dash.

“We’re very happy with that because it’s been a long time between runs. The Tatts Tiara in three weeks is her goal now,” Stokes said en route to Brisbane Airport.

“I had to listen to the race on the radio. I had 15 minutes to catch my flight otherwise I would’ve had to have waited another two hours.”

Another photo in the Listed Helen Coughlan Stakes at Eagle Farm with Zaszou getting there by a whisker! 📸@pstokesracing@[e-mail]/wLztpOM0U9

— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) June 7, 2025

Zaszou hadn’t raced since top jockey Craig Williams guided her to a sixth place in the Group 2 Sapphire Stakes (1200m) at Randwick in mid-April.

Jockey Ethan Brown said he had to resort to a Plan B after the mare jumped out slowly.

“I didn’t really want to be on the inside, but they fanned out a fair bit,” he said.

“I thought where we were probably wasn’t that bad, and she was so tenacious.

“She was entitled to run third or fourth but she maintained her run of foot.

“Given the day I’ve had, I was sure we’d finish second. We cut the corner and there were a few things that went against her, but credit to the stable and the horse.”

Meanwhile, Group 1-winning jockey Nikita Beriman turned up at Eagle Farm for two rides and made it count when she scored the $500,000 Magic Millions National Classic (1600m).

It was also a major occasion for Toowoomba trainer John Dann who scored a huge career moment when Adiella ($15) landed the big money race.

Adiella kicks to win the @mmsnippets National Classic at Eagle Farm! 🙌@BrisRacingClubpic.twitter.com/iknEb097Gd

— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) June 7, 2025

“It’s like winning the Lotto really,” Dann said.

“But these good horses are hard to find. She’s got that habit of getting her head on the side.

“I don’t know why she does it, she’s probably still learning her craft.

“She hasn’t had many starts, but she always tries her hardest and we’ve always had faith in her.”

Beriman quipped the four-year-old mare was “a bit of a pest” with some of her traits, including her awkward head carriage.

“There’s no need for it, but she even does it cantering to the barriers,” Beriman said.

“It’s a bad habit she has picked up. She likes to find the fence and last start she hugged the rails and went as straight as a die.

“Whereas today I elected to stay in the one-one, and she got a bit lost out there. But she still got the job done.”

Originally published as Sunrays heads for well-earned spell after ending successful campaign with victory in Show A Heart at Eagle Farm