Owner Peter Walsh set a cat amongst the pigeons when he threw Everest plans into the melting pot for his star mare Amelia’s Jewel.
On the eve of her interstate kick off at Flemington, Walsh sent social media into a frenzy and gave trainer Simon Miller conniptions.
Up until that stage the only discussion points for Amelia’s Jewel, publicly anyhow, was the tug of war between Melbourne and Sydney.
Would the Walsh camp target the G1 Cox Plate at Moonee Valley or travel up the highway and go for the $10 million Golden Eagle at Rosehill?
The Everest speculation created media fodder for a few hours, but by Saturday night in the afterglow of Amelia’s Jewel’s Let’s Elope victory, they were shut down.
Walsh was back on point, declaring no decision will be made until Amelia’s Jewel gets her first sighting of Moonee Valley in Friday week’s Stock Stakes (1600m).
The Group 2 race is to be the fork in the road for Amelia’s Jewel, but on Melbourne radio this morning (Monday) Walsh gave a clue of what is likely to come.
“To be honest, if she gets around Moonee Valley well in a fortnight’s time, between Simon and myself, there is nothing like a Cox Plate, is there,” Walsh said.
“Melbourne is a great place and is the headquarters of racing as far as I’m concerned.
“It’s a great buzz in Melbourne, Moonee Valley on a Friday night and the grand final Saturday, what a great weekend, you know.
“As I’ve said, the Cox Plate is the race that everybody wants to win, isn’t it.”
Amelia’s Jewel has been the darling of WA racing since her scorching two-year-old season, but Walsh has been blown away by the interest in Melbourne.
“The support there has been fantastic,” Walsh said.
“It gives me a warm fuzzy feeling that so many people are interested in the horse.
“I feel very, very lucky.”
