Schweida's Odyssey ready to go one better

Thursday 18 October 2018, 11:55am

Trainer Kelly Schweida will get an extra lift if two-year-old The Odyssey can win at Doomben.

The Odyssey is by Schweida's former top sprinter Better Than Ready who now stands at Lyndhurst Stud in Queensland.

Saturday marks the anniversary of Better Than Ready's best win when he ran a course record in taking the Listed Brian Crowley Stakes at Randwick.

Better Than Ready won races eight races from 16 starts in a career dogged by injury.

The stallion has had several barrier trial winners and race placegetters but The Odyssey could give him his first city success.

The Odyssey will again take on star youngster Guntantes when they meet in the St Rita's College Handicap (1050m).

He ran second to Guntantes at Doomben on a heavy track two weeks ago and the conditions will be the same again on Saturday.

Schweida is hoping race experience and a swing in the weights can help The Odyssey reverse the placings.

"My bloke was very green at his first run. The run should have helped him mature a bit," he said.

"Better Than Ready has all the attributes to make a top sire and if would be great to be part of his first winner."

As a precaution against a Doombn washout, Schweida has entered The Odyssey and stablemate Pocket Pistol for the Gold Coast on Saturday.

Trainer David Vandyke had the spring hopes of some of his talented three-year-old fillies dashed but he begins his summer campaign with well-bred Okeechobee.

Vandyke had hoped to be a major player in the southern spring carnivals with Baccarat Baby, Miss Quaintly and Asharani but for various reason they have all been spelled.

However the in-form Vandyke, who has a winning strike-rate of 35 per cent this season, looks to have a nice team ready for the summer.

One of those is Okeechobee who is by champion sire Sebring out of the mare Sorched, making her a relation to the multiple Group One winner Melito and former stakes winner Furnaces.

A $210,000 buy at the Magic Millions Yearling Sales, Okeechobee is raced by an all-woman syndicate which makes her eligible for a $500,000 in bonus payments and $2 million in prize money for the Magic Millions 2YO Classic in January.

Jockey Jeff Lloyd made the trip from his Gold Coast base to score an impressive barrier trial win on Okeechobee two weeks ago.

– AAP

Latest News

Prime Thoroughbreds - We have a Host of Leaders in our Team

Tuesday, 29 June 2021

Prime Thor­ough­bred’s cur­rent rac­ing team is putt­ing to­gether quite a re­cord. We have 22 hors­es that have raced in our team at pre­sent. Six­teen of th­ese are win­n­ers in­clud­ing the Stakes win­n­ing trio Ru­bisa­ki, Fituese and Xtreme­time with Miss Di­vine Em and Miss In Charge run­n­ing 4th in Stakes races. This sees a stakes win­n­er to win­n­er ra­tio of 18.75% with a stake’s per­formed to win­n­er ra­tio of 31.25%. Th­ese are ex­cep­tio­n­al fig­ures.   More »

Freedmans land maiden Group One win

Saturday, 27 February 2021

Un­der-rat­ed fil­ly For­bid­den Love has emerged as an au­tumn car­ni­val smokey with a bril­liant per­for­mance to win the Sur­round Stakes at Rand­wick.  More »

Capriccio completes Damian Lane treble

Saturday, 27 February 2021

In a big day for coun­try-trained hors­es, War­r­nam­bool fil­ly Capric­cio has tak­en out the In­glis Dash for Daniel Bow­man.  More »

More news headlines »