Star filly Amelia’s Jewel on track for $4m The Quokka after Roma Cup win at Ascot
Superstar filly Amelia’s Jewel proved she was on track for the $4 million The Quokka when she made a spectacular return to win Saturday’s Group 3 Roma Cup (1100m) at Ascot.
The outstanding three-year-old captured the second leg of a feature double for trainer Simon Miller, who compared freakish Group 3 Gimcrack Stakes (1100m) winner Live To Tell to his stable star.
Settling midfield for jockey Patrick Carbery, Amelia’s Jewel ($2.15 favourite) launched a powerful sprint once getting into the clear to beat Red Can Man ($4.20) by a length.
Acromantula ($21) held third after leading and Resortman stated his case for a Quokka slot with a slashing fourth.
Miller said Amelia’s Jewel had returned from her Group 1 Northerly Stakes (1800m) win last December in perfect order.
“I’ve always said if you train her for a certain race, she’ll execute for you and we’ve just had the easiest time of it this time in,” Miller said.
“She’s just in the zone. I don’t get nervous with her, I trust her and just enjoy it.
“It’s exciting.”
Steve Wolfe, the trainer of Red Can Man, said only bad luck would beat Amelia’s Jewel in The Quokka (1200m) and rated her the best filly in Australia.
“If I had one in Melbourne coming over (for The Quokka), I would leave it there,” Wolfe said.
Carbery said the daughter of Siyouni was “panels better” than she was first-up last campaign.
“She’s more mature and stronger,” Carbery said.
“She got there quite easy. She pulled up a bit big so she’ll improve off that, which is very cool.”
Miller and Carbery are eyeing a $4.5m feature double with Amelia’s Jewel in The Quokka and Live To Tell, who is the odds-on favourite for the $500,000 Group 2 Karrakatta Plate (1200m) on April 15.
Live To Tell ($2.50 favourite) stormed home from last to score an astonishing victory in the Gimcrack, nailing Super Smink ($4.40) on the finishing post by a half-head.
Another Miller-trained filly, Augment ($5.50), was a close third.
Live To Tell is on the same path as Amelia’s Jewel, who won last year’s Supremacy Stakes, Gimcrack and Karrakatta.
“Even with the way she works, her mannerisms and the barriers we’ve got, she’s doing things that Amelia’s Jewel was doing,” Miller said.
“I don’t know how far we were off on the turn, but gee she’s a bloody good filly.
“From day one we knew she was the real deal.”
Miller went close to a clean-sweep of Saturday’s three features, with Alotofbanter running a half-length second to Ripcord in the Listed Perth Stakes (1100m).
Ripcord will clash with Live To Tell in the Karrakatta after a stylish debut off only one 400m trial for trainer Luke Fernie.
“I know that I’ve got a nice horse at home, so I didn’t need to show him off to anybody else (in a 1000m trial,” Fernie said.
