Country girl a red hot chance

KEVIN Miller has been informed Isis Carmella is a metropolitan level filly on talent but the promising youngster just loves her home surrounds too much in Central Queensland.

The daughter of Bel Esprit will start as one of the favoured runners in Friday afternoon’s QTIS Northern Jewel for three-year-olds over 1300 metres at Cluden Park.

A six-time winner from just 10 career starts, Isis Carmella was transferred from Rockhampton to the in-form stable of Steven O’dea and Matthew Hoysted earlier this year for a crack at higher honours in South East Queensland.

She had developed an impressive resume before making the move south.

In her two runs with O’dea and Hoysted, she won a threeyear-old Benchmark 65 Handicap on a Sunday afternoon at Caloundra before she had one start in the city.

But, her time was cut short in Brisbane.

“They thought she would definitely win a race in Brisbane, that is what they said to me and Ben Thompson, who rode her, thought the same,” Miller said.

“She just got really cranky on them and played up on the walker one day, taking a heap of skin off herself.

“They thought she hated it at the stable and started to resent them so we brought her home.

“She just likes her home environment.”

With the decision made to end her time at Eagle Farm, Isis Carmella headed to the paddock with an eye to prepared for the $105,000 northern feature for juveniles at Townsville’s Cluden Park.

“This has always been the plan to get back to the North to get to this race,” he said.

“She is really well at the moment and I’m really happy.”