Trainer Kelly Schweida on mission to win Townsville Cup for good mate Allan Meads

KELLY Schweida is poised to deliver on a promise made a quarter of a century ago when Outraged runs the likely favourite in Saturday’s Townsville Cup.

Trainer Kelly Schweida hopes to snare another Townsville Cup on Saturday. Picture: Mark Cranitch

KELLY Schweida is poised to deliver on a promise made a quarter of a century ago when Outraged runs the likely favourite in Saturday’s $100,000 Townsville Cup.

A Group 1 winner last month of the Tatt’s Tiara for a second time, Schweida says winning another Townsville Cup would rate on a similar level given his history in the northern capital.

“I was apprenticed in Townsville in 1972 and spent 22 years there before moving south to Brisbane,” he said. “It’s great coming back and seeing so many old friends, even though they look a bit different now to when I left.

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“I have a genuine affection for this place and I love winning these types of races.

“It would be pretty special if we can win it.”

Schweida won the 1996 Townsville Cup with Harvey’s Gold and also claimed a Cleveland Bay with Easy Dancer.

“I won the premiership here the year before I went to Brisbane, in November 1994,” he said. “I came back up two years later to win the cup and I had a couple of other runners, but it’s a long time since I’ve been back now.”

Outraged is owned by Allan Meads, who was one of Schweida’s earliest clients and it’s been a long-term ambition of the pair to win this race together.

“I have trained for Allan for 25 years and I always promised him I would bring one up here for him,” Schweida said. “It’s taken a long time but I’ve finally found the right horse.

“I purposely kept him at the shorter trips because I just didn’t want him over the top coming up here. I think he profiles as the right horse for the race, but it’s about the travel.

“It’s a long way to come up here. He seems bright since arriving, but you just don’t know what it takes out of them until the race.”

Outraged was easy in betting on Friday. After opening at $3.80 in UBET’s fixed odds market, he had eased to $4.60 on Friday, with in-form Rocky raider Fastnet Flyer considered the biggest danger from local hope Rocknet.

After last year’s crowd fell owing to a changed timeslot, club officials are expecting a bumper 10,000 in attendance on Saturday, with the city’s biggest meeting returning to its traditional timeslot.

Saturday’s other feature is the Cleveland Bay, where Daph ‘N’ Alf is the fixed odds favourite ahead of BRC Lightning winner Executed.

Originally published as Trainer Kelly Schweida on mission to win Townsville Cup for good mate Allan Meads