Kelly Schweida-trained mare Miss Joelene continues impressive first-up form with dominant Doomben victory

\Kelly Schweida-trained mare Miss Joelene continued her impressive first-up form with a dominant victory in a quality handicap at Doomben on Wednesday.

Miss Joelene wins at Doomben on Wednesday with Cejay Graham on board. Picture: Grant Peters / Trackside Photography

The Kelly Schweida-trained mare Miss Joelene continued her impressive first-up form with a dominant victory in a quality handicap at Doomben on Wednesday.

Miss Joelene, with Cejay Graham steering on Wednesday, has now recorded four victories and two minor placings from six first-up runs.

Equally impressive was the powerful surge to the line of the Rex Lipp-trained Cifrado, who bounced back under 60.5kg to finish second ahead of Tony Gollan’s pair Devastate and Set To Shine.

Cifrado was coming off a horror run in the King Of The Mountain slot race in Toowoomba last month when the four-year-old gelding finished last on a bottomless track.

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“From the barrier (nine) and the weight, it was very impressive and I was glad to see him bounce back from what happened the other day (in Toowoomba),” Lipp said.

Cifrado could be heading to $1m The Archer slot race in Rockhampton on May 4 but Lipp conceded he would also cop a heavy weight in that event.

“He’s going to get 60-plus kilos, which almost puts him out of it,” he said of The Archer.

“But I’ll sit down with the owner (Cliff Little) now to see where we go next. It was a tremendous run here today to come from where he came from with 60.5kg.”

Miss Joelene draws away to win Race 9 at Doomben! @[e-mail]/MkTQAgRq6l

— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) April 16, 2025

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In the previous race, the Toby Edmonds-trained Ready To Schipp ($7) won a 3YO fillies handicap in a ding-dong battle against Moscow Circus ($4.40), with Poster Girl ($21) finishing third despite the Chris Munce-trained galloper being a massive drifter in betting.

Jockey Kyle Wilson-Taylor timed his run to perfection on Ready To Schipp, who finished eighth last-start in the $500,000 3YO Jewel on the Gold Coast on March 15.

“It was a good ride,” Edmonds said.

“Kyle put her right in the spot today and out to 1350m was probably the right call I think.

“I can thank Andrew Mallyon for that because he rode her last start and suggested the same.

“She ran well in the Jewel on a bit of a shifty track down there the other day and she got the conditions to suit today.

“She’s a filly that probably appreciates the sting out of the track so that’s great.”

The two 1350m races, worth $105,000 each, were rescheduled after most of last Saturday’s meeting at Doomben was washed out.

Meanwhile, South Australia wrapped up the National Apprentice Race Series at Doomben on Wednesday, with Tasmania a close second and Queensland finishing last.

Felicity Atkinson secured the title for SA when she was runner-up on Southern Charm in a Class 1 race over 1350m.

Originally published as Kelly Schweida-trained mare Miss Joelene continues impressive first-up form with dominant Doomben victory