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Amelia’s Jewel to Annabel Neasham

Sydney trainer Annabel Neasham set to train star WA mare Amelia’s Jewel.

AMELIA'S JEWEL winning the Ladbrokes Stocks Stakes at Moonee Valley in Australia.
AMELIA'S JEWEL winning the Ladbrokes Stocks Stakes at Moonee Valley in Australia. Picture: Racing Photos

Amelia's Jewel will have one more run under the care of trainer Simon Miller before she joins the Annabel Neasham stable ahead of further Eastern state targets in the Spring, per RWWA's Julio Santarelli.

The Group 1 winning mare will fly to Melbourne before floating to Adelaide for the Group 1 The Goodwood (1200m) on May 11 after her narrow defeat in The Quokka (1200m) for the second year in a row.

It was revealed in January that owner Peter Walsh was going to transfer Amelia's Jewel out of Simon Miller's stable, with both agreeing that it was too difficult for the Perth-based trainer to go back and forth to care for Amelia's Jewel.

"Me and Simon have already talked about that. It's a bit impossible for him to be going backwards and forwards, but he's done a great job with her. It's been fantastic," Walsh said in January.

"Simon's great, when she first went there I said, 'if she shows a bit of ability, I'm sending her over east' and he said, 'yeah, no worries mate' and she never lost a race," Walsh said.

No Spring targets have yet been confirmed for the rising five-year-old, with plenty of debate as to her best distance. Damian Lane, who rode her in all four runs between 1400-1600m in the Spring, and again in The Quokka, expressed to Miller post-race that she was "superior over 1400m to a mile and even a little bit further."

Neasham has won nine Group 1 races, largely thanks to the recent retired Zaaki who accounted for four of those, and could be quick to add to that tally with Amelia's Jewel as she is set to take over prior to a Queensland Winter Carnival tilt.

Prior to The Quokka, Peter Walsh had already hinted that Amelia's Jewel was likely to head to Queensland, with three Group 1 targets- the Kingsford Smith Cup (1300m), Stradbroke Handicap (1400m) and Tatts Tiara (1400m) all still possible options.