Weight’s right for Oink at Doomben

Kelly Schweida has a reputation for placing his horses in the right races and will get another boost if Oink wins at Doomben.

The Brisbane trainer showed his skill in picking winnable races when he had a three-venue treble at Randwick, Doomben and the Gold Coast last Saturday.

Oink, who is raced by friends and family of the late jockey Tim Bell, has been one of Brisbane’s better performed horses in his two seasons of racing.

He has won three races and been Group Three placed but has struggled to win in recent times.

Oink carried 57kg when third at the Sunshine Coast two runs back and then at his last start he had 59kg when second at Doomben.

Schweida looked long and hard in Brisbane and Sydney for a race at a suitable distance in which Oink would get a reasonable weight.

He came up with the Class Six Plate (1350m) at Doomben on Saturday with Oink to carry 54.5kg.

“I have always had an opinion of him and took him to Sydney for the Group One Golden Rose last year. He has raced well against some good horses and in good grade but is paying the price now at the weights,” Schweida said.

“He is actually still a Class Three horse so gets into this Plate race with a nice weight.”

Schweida said he still wasn’t sure about the best distance for Oink.

“I thought he might have got up to a mile but I am not sure. The 1350 metres seems to be about the right distance and we will see on Saturday,” he said.

Top jockey Damian Browne will get down to 54.5kg to ride Oink while premier Brisbane apprentice Tiffani Brooker will ride stablemate Stella Ombra in the Chris Munce Hcp (1200m) on Saturday.

Stella Ombra beat top mare Tumbler in an open handicap at Doomben last Saturday to make it three wins from his past four starts.