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By Ray Hickson

It’s all systems go for boom Perth mare Amelia’s Jewel for next month’s $10 million James Squire Golden Eagle having pleased trainer Simon Miller since a shock failure in the Toorak Handicap.

There’s a suspicion that the four-year-old picked up a virus of some kind, going some way to explaining her ninth as a $2.40 favourite in the Group 1, but Miller said other than her demeanour on the day there was no evidence.

However, his confidence was back following a gallop at Flemington on Tuesday morning.

“It wasn’t until she got on course (for the Toorak) she was in a bit of a mood so it wasn’t ideal,’’ Miller said.

“I thought maybe the chopper and the music was the reason why but when you see how poor she ran it wasn’t.

“Then she wasn’t eating after that so there was clearly a low grade bug in her system. It’s a bit frustrating though, her bloods never showed anything up and she was sound.”

Amelia’s Jewel had her first serious gallop in the Sydney direction under jockey Damian Lane and she firmed back to $4.50 favouritism with TAB for the Golden Eagle on the back of the reports about the work.

She arrived in Melbourne in September to rave reviews for her first-up win in the Group 2 Let’s Elope Stakes (1400m) before a track record win in the Group 2 Stocks Stakes (1600m) at Moonee Valley.

"Too good! Too good!"

Amelia's Jewel gets the job done in the Let's Elope! 💎@Simon_Miller_ @LaneDamian pic.twitter.com/AGrumuZvgX

— 7HorseRacing 🐎 (@7horseracing) September 16, 2023

Miller said it’s unlikely the latter win is responsible for her Toorak performance.

“All her mannerisms suggested she was perfect post-race, she was eating strong and she was bright,’’ he said.

“It’s easy to say that could have zapped her but she would have shown that in her feed bin and it didn’t.

“I knew she would bounce back but it was just a matter of when. She dialled back in and from here it’s smooth sailing.

“When Damian asked her to do some fast work she just switched straight to her Sydney leg. Obviously she’s never done it under race conditions but it was good to see her do it in a gallop.”

The plan is to give Amelia’s Jewel another gallop in the Sydney direction and she won’t arrive in town until the eve of the Golden Eagle.

She will face a crack field in the 1500m four-year-old classic at Rosehill Gardens on November 4 including high class locals Kovalica and Hawaii Five Oh, Kiwi star Legaro and Japanese visitor Obamburumai to name a few.

“I’m excited to be favourite in a $10 million race, it’s crazy,’’ Miller said.

“I must admit the first two runs were unreal, everyone was enjoying it and the public was behind her. It’s great.

“Hopefully we can go up there and let Sydney have a look at her as well. If she puts her best foot forward she will go close.”

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