Miss Joelene has put a run of placings behind her by claiming the $500,000 Magic Millions Wave at the Sunshine Coast on Saturday evening, with Damian Lane picking up the ride on the Kelly Schweida-trained mare.
The daughter of Russian Revolution was sent out as a hot favourite with top horse racing bookmakers in her previous start at Eagle Farm, and after being well backed once again before the race jumped, she got the job done in the first of three feature races.
Simply Fun and Gold Bullion set a strong tempo for the 1800m contest, while I’m Heroic and Arts Object gained economical runs in behind the speed influences.
It appeared as though Lane was trying to get in behind a runner and gain some cover throughout; however, he chose to stay out three-wide for the entire journey and was able to stay in a nice rhythm around the home turn.
The $3.30 favourite with Picklebet, Loch Eagle, angled out underneath the winner, but she remained unsettled, cruised past her rivals with 200m and struck the front.
Encoder and Brookhaven stayed close to the inside running rail and made a late challenge, but they would have to settle for second and third, respectively.
2025 Magic Millions The Wave Replay – Miss Jolene
Kelly Schweida sounded like a relieved man after the victory, and he spoke about the whirlwind that has been the last 24 hours for his stable.
“It’s been bizarre. Trucks, floats, jockey. I’ve gone through 3 jockeys today. Tommy Berry was supposed to ride this but he was sick.” Schweida said.
“Nash (Rawiller) was supposed to ride Deep Respect but he hurt his shoulder and Craig (Williams) was supposed to ride in the slot race on El Morzillo. It’s been one of those days.
“Well done to this mare. She ran good the other day. She nearly fell over on the corner and lost a plate.
“When we were three deep, I thought, ‘uh-oh, we’re in a spot of bother here,’ because Damian’s never ridden here before.
“He wanted to go forward. He said, ‘oh, I’m not gonna make much ground here.’ And I said, ‘Damien, it’ll be my fault; you gotta go back.’
“But, look, it’s good to get a win. You know, they’re good owners. They’ve been longtime clients.”
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