As El Morzillo swamped the opposition to win Saturday’s $1 million dollar Inglis Sprint, it was hard to believe this was only her second win and a full thirteen months after the first. Following a second on debut at Eagle Farm in December of 2023, the grey filly scored a narrow win in a Sunny Coast 2YO event with Cejay Graham on board. Her next nine starts were winless, but there were a couple of impressive placings, and it was obvious her “get-back” racing pattern was creating traffic problems. This very fact prompted trainer Kelly Schweida to give serious thought to aiming her for the Inglis Sprint down the iconic Flemington straight course.
The trainer’s heart sank when El Morzillo jumped in the air as the gates opened and was immediately looking at a sea of backsides. Five runners headed for the flat side, the remainder towards the middle of the track or wider. Craig Williams, who’d ridden El Morzillo on five previous occasions began to plot the course that would give the filly her best opportunity to wind up. At the halfway mark Williams angled between Winning Proposal and Reserve Bank which put El Morzillo into the clear at the 400m, some four lengths from the leaders. The filly’s length of stride belied her small stature as she hit top gear and was fairly flying at the 100m.
Supporters of Hot Diggity Boom, Scintilla, Certain Rise and Daggers all had reason to cheer momentarily but in the dying stages El Morzillo put them away emphatically. The Schweida plan had been executed to the letter, even if there had been a few anxious moments.
El Morzillo was going better than anything on the line in the Inglis Sprint. Daggers (white bridle) was second with Hot Diggity Boom (inside) third - courtesy Racing Photos.
“She’s got so much talent but has to be ridden quietly and there’s always the chance she’s going to run into trouble,” said the astute horseman. “I was shattered when she jumped awkwardly which was going to put her further back than we wanted. Craig Williams has been down that straight six a million times and I knew he’d find the right lane. It looked a bit tight when he went between a couple at the 500m but what a sight it was to see her in the clear and winding up. I had no doubt she’d be doing her best work in the last bit. On two occasions Craig Williams had told me this filly would win a decent race one day. No wonder his judgement is so widely respected.”
Williams had his first ride on El Morzillo in April of last year and was impressed with her fast finishing fourth to Eneeza in the Percy Sykes Stakes at Randwick. A check at the 200m probably cost her a place. He rode the filly in three consecutive races during the Brisbane carnival for a second in the Champagne Classic at Doomben, seventh in the Sires Produce Stakes when possibly ridden too close, and a fourth in the J.J. Atkins to the rampaging Broadsiding after racing too keenly. Williams was reunited with El Morzillo in the Furious in which her seventh placing was far better than it looked. She settled last after a very awkward beginning and struck major traffic issues in the straight, before getting to the outside. She finished only 1.5 lengths from winner Manaal and nothing hit the line better. Two weeks later the grey filly overdid it in the 1400m Furious Stakes with Cejay Graham in the saddle, finishing out of a place behind Autumn Glow. The paddock beckoned.
Kelly Schweida and Craig Williams were delighted to share the big occasion - courtesy Racing Photos.
Kelly Schweida had El Morzillo back for a tilt at the inaugural Sunlight Plate on Jan 4th and again had to watch her running into trouble before finishing a closing fifth four lengths behind super impressive winner Private Harry. Kelly kept the filly ticking over with an easy Doomben barrier trial win on Feb 11th before embarking on a road trip to Melbourne and to the spacious stretches of the historic Flemington straight course. “We stayed with David Payne at Rosehill for a couple of days and actually gave the filly a strong gallop while we were there,” said Kelly. “It was then on to Victoria where we’d arranged to stay with my old mate Peter Moody. Saturday’s win saw our ambitious plan come off.”
Despite ongoing success in Queensland for three decades Kelly Schweida believes El Morzillo was only his fifth or sixth starter in Melbourne, and his first since Better Than Ready who finished a creditable fifth in the 2013 Newmarket won by Shamexpress, returning a year later to run fourth to Lankan Rupee in the Rubiton Stakes at Caulfield. Prior to Better Than Ready’s two runs Kelly thinks Amalfi was his previous southern starter finishing well back in Mummify’s 2003 Underwood Stakes.
It’s well documented that El Morzillo was a $50,000 purchase at the 2023 Inglis Classic Sale for her enthusiastic group of eleven owners. “Syndicate manager Glen Betts liked her as a type and was impressed with her pedigree,” the trainer recalled. “My good mate Brett Gildin also ran his eye over the filly. He’s now a member of the Inglis team but worked for me in an earlier life. Brett reported back that she was on the small side but a very neat and racy type. He was actually with me at Flemington on Saturday and was even more excited than I was. Interestingly the El Morzillo syndicate were the underbidders on her Dirty Work half sister who made $130,000 at Sunday’s Inglis Premier Sale in Melbourne. “Obviously our filly’s win the day before gave the yearling a good kick along.”
Craig Williams is a horse lover first and a top jockey second - courtesy Racing Photos.
By a massive coincidence the colours carried by El Morzillo happen to be the historic Widden Stud colours introduced by the Thompson family many years ago. The simple but striking combination of orange with a purple cap is actually registered in two states. Racing Queensland were happy to grant them to El Morzillo’s ownership syndicate, despite the fact that the colours had been previously registered in NSW. “Because Widden Stud were the vendors when this filly was sold, many people assume there’s a connection of some sort,” said Kelly. “It’s just sheer coincidence but what a good set of colours they are.”
Those same colours caught the eye in the recent Inglis Millenium at Randwick. They were carried by the Schweida trained Grafterburners who flashed home into fourth place behind Rivellino, Within The Law and Artistic Venture, after a chequered run. That form was spectacularly franked at Randwick on Saturday when Rivellino and Within The Law both won impressively. “Our bloke’s improving with every run,” says Kelly. “He went to Sydney after an Ipswich win and a couple of placings, handled the trip well and came from last to beat all but the placegetters. His next outing will be in the half million dollar QTIS Jewel on March 8 at the Gold Coast. Let’s hope he can give the orange and purple cap some more publicity.”
The experienced trainer gets a twinkle in the eye when he talks about two year old filly Sunrays, unbeaten in three starts all at Doomben. The Hellbent filly is raced by longtime owner-breeder Peter Moran whose green and white colours have been carried by such eminent performers as Mossman and Staging. “She’s actually a great granddaughter of Staging and is a switched on filly,’ said Kelly. “I opted for a few weeks off after her most recent win because I think she’s good enough to target some black type races over our carnival.”
Kelly has used the services of some outstanding Brisbane jockeys over the years. He had a successful partnership with the now retired Damian Browne - courtesy Trackside Photography.
Another Schweida favourite is lightly raced four year old gelding Metalart, winner of six from ten including five in town. Perhaps Kelly’s admiration for the horse is attributable to the fact that he’s a son of former stable star Better Than Ready. Metalart went to the paddock after his Sunny Coast win on January 25th and won’t be seen until carnival time. Kelly has long held an opinion of Weigall Tiger who was turned out after an unplaced effort in the Magic Millions Cup in January. “He was very flat after that race, so we tipped him straight out for a freshen up,” said the trainer. “You won’t see him for a while, but he’ll be worth waiting for. “He’s won five from only sixteen starts so far and there are more wins in store.”
What should have been a dream trip to Melbourne for the popular trainer has been somewhat frustrated by the sudden onset of mild vertigo. “I started to feel a bit light headed last Friday and there was little improvement by Saturday,” he said. “After the filly’s win I had a different kind of vertigo. I think it’s called cloud nine. I’ll check it out and make sure I’ve got both feet firmly planted by Jewel day.”
Kelly was both surprised and deeply touched by a tsunami of congratulatory text messages in the wake of El Morzillo’s important win - 143 messages to be exact. The sheer volume of that response clearly illustrates the esteem in which the former jockey is held. The fact that he’d personally replied to every single one of them by bedtime on Saturday night, is testimony to his professionalism.
(Banner image - There was a swarm of horses close to home in the Inglis Sprint but the Racing Photos photographer honed in on El Morzillo - courtesy Racing Photos.)