If Amelie’s Star, the ever-improving mare trained by Darren Weir, wins this year’s big Group 1 Caulfield Cup, it will be perhaps the greatest story of perseverance seen in a long time. By her owners at the very least.
It’s common knowledge that when you buy into a yearling, your great hope is that you see something right from the get go. With this mare, that didn’t happen.
In four trials as a young horse, she couldn’t beat a runner home. Then when she did race, she finished 12th of 14 in a lowly Kembla maiden.
It took another four attempts in low key provincial maidens, and another two trials before she finally got the chocolates in an 1800m Hawkesbury maiden, back two years ago.
“It just shows you that you shouldn’t give up on a horse while it is young”, confirmed Palmerbet CEO Grant Palmer.
Palmer thinks this mare, along with her more fancied stablemate Humidor, has a great each way hope.
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Since those early days of finding her feet, Amelie’s Star has discovered one very important attribute in her arsenal as a racehorse – that being, she doesn’t seem to tire as badly as those around her. She just keeps getting to the wire.
The will to win that she possesses is the perfect attribute for a race like the Caulfield Cup, where the winner will come from the horse with the most fight.
“She has a light weight and the way she charged home to win at Group 3 level over a similar trip last start suggests she is in great shape,” added Palmer.
It may not even surprise to see the race pan out as a Weir-quinella.
