Amelia’s Jewel’s autumn campaign will be her last with Simon Miller with the star Western Australian mare to be trained in Sydney this spring.
The four-year-old’s owner Peter Walsh broke the news when detailing the Group 1 winner’s 2024 itinerary after selling a Zoustar colt for $1.3 million on Day 4 at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale.
The daughter of Siyouni will have two starts in Perth this campaign, which will be geared around the $5 million The Quokka on April 20, and potentially one in Brisbane before spelling after which she will be transferred east.
Walsh is yet to decide which trainer she will go to.
“We’re going to give her two starts there and then myself and Simon will sit down and work out if we do another one in Brisbane or whatever and then, unfortunately, she’ll stay in New South Wales and she’ll be trained over in New South Wales,” Walsh said.
“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.”
Miller prepared Amelia’s Jewel to win her first four starts, after which she was narrowly beaten, before rebounding to win the Group 2 WA Guineas and Group 1 Northerly Stakes.
She finished second in last year’s edition of The Quokka and last spring ventured east for the first time, winning the Let’s Elope Stakes and Stocks Stakes at Group 2 level in Melbourne, before disappointing when ninth in the Group 1 Toorak Handicap.
She was then the victim of severe interference in the $10 million Golden Eagle, which Walsh said she had pleasing suffered no ill-effects from.
Walsh said Miller was philosophical at the prospect of losing the best horse he has trained, but was glad he had her in his stable for as long as he did.
“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.
“I could have sent her then but I wanted to keep her in WA because Simon trained her so well.
“Of course he’d be disappointed losing her, but I hope to keep him in the loop somewhere along the line and he’s probably had her an extra year-and-a-half and we’ve still got The Quokka and we’ve got the Roma Cup to go and then maybe a race up here.
“He’s very positive.”
Amelia’s Jewel’s return will be played out in the Group 3 Roma Cup (1100m) at Ascot on April 6.
