Schweida seeking more Millions success

By Trent Crebbin, Brad Bishop and Danny Matthews 

Kelly Schweida is aiming for more feature wins with Miss Joelene and Hella Fast on Saturday’s Magic Millions race day.

Schweida has won a Magic Millions race twice in his expansive training career and will take a competitive team to Saturday's meeting. 

Miss Joelene backs up after taking out the $500,000 The Wave at Sunshine Coast on Saturday and will line up in the $1 million Magic Millions Subzero, with Schweida confident the Group 1 Queensland Oaks placegetter will handle the extra ground.

"I've backed her up 10 days, never backed up in a week. Got a blood done and it came back as if she's had no harm from the run, so that's good. Light knock a little bit, but by the end of the week she'll put that weight back on. Can run 2200 metres running third in the Oaks, so that's not an issue," Schweida said.

"She's good. I mean, how do you know if they back up or not until you actually do it. But, everything seems right - it's a $1 million race so we'll find out."

Miss Joelene's jockey changed a number of times prior to Damian Lane eventually taking the ride.

But, regular jockey James Orman will be back aboard on Saturday after returning from an injured finger with the mare drawing well in barrier five.

Schweida will also saddle up Hella Fast in the Magic Millions 3YO Guineas and believes the horse will improve again from a third placing in the Group 3 Vo Rogue Plate. 

"He's been a good little horse, I love him. Kyle Wilson-Taylor to ride him, good the other day and I thought he ran really good because he was second-up after he'd had his first run, he'd missed a jump-out and trial, so he went in it with just one jump-out," Schweida said.

"I had to run him on that really heavy track at Eagle Farm (first-up) and he got in the worst part of the track and he was just bobbing up and down the last little bit and I thought, well, if I don't run him you can't run in the Magic Millions."

"We backed him up the next week and he ran third in that in that quality race the other day, a Group race, we went and had a look at the steward's film, the protest against the second horse, but it wasn't quite its fault; the one inside it came out and bumped it, so I think he ran better than it looked and I think he's a live hope."

Miss Joelene is a $4.80 second elect for the Subzero while Hella Fast is a $31 chance for the Guineas.

Meanwhile, Lucy Yeomans leads an all-female charge with the Magic Millions favourite.

It's not like Lloyd Kennewell to take a back seat, especially with a horse who appears above-average, but he has been largely in the background for Invincible Woman's Magic Millions campaign.

The Cranbourne horseman has left it to Yeomans to represent the stable with the speedy daughter of I Am Invincible, who is favourite for Saturday's $3 million Magic Millions 2YO Classic.

Yeomans has been Kennewell's co-trainer since the start of last season and is a part-owner of Invincible Woman, who was one of the first horses they bought together at last year's Gold Coast Yearling Sale.

Invincible Woman was bought in partnership with Lizzie Jelfs' 'Race With Lizzie' syndicate, which means she is racing for the $500,000 Women In Racing bonus in addition to the winner's purse.

Yeomans is excited to be a key part of it, even if a reluctant spokesperson.

"Being an all-female group, I'm getting a fair bit of attention, which, if you know me, I'd rather be behind the scenes," Yeomans said.

"It's a credit to Lloyd, Lizzie, all the women (involved) and the team at home. Being a female trainer and having worked my way up in a male dominated industry, I think it's important that women are supported and it's great to be here with a female owned horse with the bonus provided."

The Women In Racing bonus is available to horses with all-female ownership groups.

Invincible Woman, who is out of the Big Brown mare Showcase, a granddaughter of Group 1 Spectrum, was a $250,000 buy out of the Widden Stud draft.

Her only racetrack appearance to date realised a win in the Magic Millions Victorian Classic at Caulfield on December 14, after which she was sent to Queensland and on New Year's Eve was a soft winner of an 800 metre trial at the Gold Coast.

Invincible Woman is striving to become not only the first horse to win the Magic Millions 2YO Classic off a final led-up run in Victoria since the abandonment of gender-based divisions of the race in 1992, but also the first to win it at just their second start.

"Lucky I'm not a believer in stats," Yeomans, who joined Kennewell after a long stint with Ciaron Maher, said.

"Coming from Melbourne apparently is not likely and a horse has never won their second start, but she's in very good order. We brought her up here very early, we trialled her up here going the Queensland way on the Gold Coast track and she's thriving.

"She was broken in up here, so she's very used to going Queensland way. Whether she beat much in the trial, possibly not, but she ran a quicker time than the three-year-old trial, so her time was good and she pulled up well, so we're very happy."

Invincible Woman is one of three horses in this years who have raced just once with debut winners Vein Girl and Space Rider, the first emergency, also chasing a slice of history.