Cover image courtesy of Race Images South
Written by Paul Vettise
A chance meeting at Karaka two years ago resulted in new additions to Trudy Keegan’s Stratford yard and among them is the untapped stable star Aimee’s Jewel (NZ) (Proisir), who on Saturday attempts to hit another level.
Keegan continues to be impressed by the lightly-tried Aimee’s Jewel, who won the G3 Coupland’s Bakeries Mile last time out at her fifth appearance and at Trentham will take aim at the G1 Rydges Wellington Captain Cook S.
The 4-year-old’s managing owner is the Melbourne-based Troy Pannell, who bought the Suncroft Bloodstock-bred Aimee’s Jewel out of Curraghmore’s draft at the New Zealand Bloodstock National Yearling Sale for NZ$11,000.
“We first met Troy at Karaka when he was just walking along and we had a couple of young horses to sell. My husband Vaughan called out to him and said 'you’re looking for a Showcasing, we had one to sell, aren’t you',” Keegan said.
Aimee's Jewel (NZ) as a yearling
“He stopped and came over and chatted to us and we struck up a really good rapport with him. He ended up buying our other horse, a Jimmy Choux, and said he would send him to us to break in and get started.
“We were stoked about that and then he emailed me a week or two later and said he had a Proisir filly in Cambridge and he was going to send her to me to train.
“At that time, he was looking for a boutique trainer in New Zealand to get his horses pre-trained and maybe give them a few starts to see if they were good enough to head over to Australia.
“We’ve now got five horses for him and Aimee’s Jewel is the first one to the races so we’ve had a pretty amazing start.
“We’ve now got five horses for him and Aimee’s Jewel is the first one to the races so we’ve had a pretty amazing start.” – Trudy Keegan
“We’ve only met him once and all our other contact has been by phone or email. He would dearly love to come over and watch her race, but we’re grateful for social media and it really does still make him feel a big part of it.”
Aimee’s Jewel showed a good degree of talent early on, but required patience.
“She was big and raw and weak and one of her jump-outs in particular gave us an inkling. She just blitzed them and that was the first time she gave us a glimpse of what she had,” Keegan said.
“She got back last and looped around them and won by 8l going away and under a hold. She was very impressive and we trialled her after that and it was a little bit disappointing, she was still weak so we tipped her out.
Aimee's Jewel (NZ) winning on debut at Awapuni | Image by Grant Matthew at Race Images Palmerston North
“When she came back for this prep she showed the benefit of the time in the paddock and was a force to be reckoned with. She’s very easy to train and is quite relaxed and a quick learner.
“She’s got so much natural ability and she’s a very sound animal and just an absolute dream.”
“She’s got so much natural ability and she’s a very sound animal and just an absolute dream.” – Trudy Keegan
Aimee’s Jewel won her first two starts during the winter and following a break posted a couple of minor placings before she came from last to win the Coupland’s Mile and had thrived in the interim.
“She galloped phenomenally well on Thursday morning and she just amazes me. I’m in awe of her to be honest, she just keeps improving and I keep thinking how much better is this animal going to get?” Keegan said.
“She is on a massive rising plane and whatever happens on Saturday she has got a massive career ahead of her. There is still improvement to come and she is still learning her craft.”
Keegan will decide Aimee’s Jewel’s immediate future after the Captain Cook.
“We’re trying to keep our feet on the ground and just go race by race. We’ll see how we go at Trentham and we’ve got three options really,” she said.
“We could look for another race for her here, give her a spell or she could head to Australia. We’ll see what Saturday brings first.”
