Trainer Kelly Schweida has revealed the 2016 Myer Classic is likely to figure as the major campaign target for recently-crowned Group 1 winner Miss Cover Girl, when the talented mare returns to competition in spring.
Miss Cover Girl will target a race like the Group 1 Myer Classic during the forthcoming Spring Carnival. Photo: Daniel Costello
Miss Cover Girl has been the stable star for Eagle Farm-based Schweida through recent seasons, but the four-year-old was rated a long shot to win the Group 1 Tattersall’s Tiara (1400m) amongst a talented field mares.
Finding a good position within the field in transit, veteran hoop Damian Browne found a clear gap in running upon arriving at the final straight and pressed Miss Cover Girl forward; sustaining a strong-enough sprint to withstand a late charge by race favourite Azkadellia.
Schweida told Racing Ahead he is yet to settle on a specific plan for Miss Cover Girl in spring, but a race like the Group 1 Myer Classic (1600m) on Derby Day should prove ideal should the mare be able to perform over a mile.
“The obvious one’s the Myer Classic,” Schweida said.
“Will she run a mile? I trained her mother, she won over a mile. I might have even run her over 1800m.
“There’s a lot of good fillies racing around the country that are better performed than her, but three months down the track… you’ve only got to turn up on the day.
“Wet or dry, she can handle it, so I would think the Myer Classic, the Magic Millions… and maybe the autumn next year in Sydney. She’s a sound mare.”
Schweida credited Browne’s ride in the Tattersall’s Tiara win and will look to extend his affiliation with the mare through her Spring Carnival campaign.
“He goes to another level, that Damian, doesn’t he?” Schweida said.
“It was like he was driving a car – he was letting her go through the gears.
“You would’ve thought he hadn’t hit the top gear at the 200m mark, he was quiet on her and in the good part of the track.
“He’s an unusual jockey. He doesn’t seem as if he’s going hard on them, but my wife said she was giving her all for him. Super ride.”
Miss Cover Girl has posted a commendable eight wins and seven minors through a total of twenty-six starts, since debuting to competition in early 2014.
