Scheelite to show form at Bendigo

The training partnership of Ken and Kasey Keys has a history of finding talented racehorses from their modest-sized stable, with Rich Enuff and Soul Patch both going close to Group 1 success.

Scheelite emerged as their next big hope after two promising early wins, sparking dreams of elite-level victories. But his spring campaign in 2023 didn’t go according to plan.

He placed seventh in the Group 1 Caulfield Guineas and struggled again in the Coolmore Stud Stakes, finishing 11th. He had a quieter autumn season, unable to replicate his earlier form.

Still, signs of promise emerged with a third at Flemington and a fourth-place run at Geelong. But it was after the Geelong effort that the team finally identified an underlying issue.

“There’s been plenty of excuses each run, but now that he’s up against the big boys, he has to stand up and prove himself,” Kasey Keys said.

“After that Geelong run, where he looked like he was going to win 100 metres from home, he pulled-up terrible.

“We found he had a lactic acid issue, so we had to change his diet. That has made a big difference and hopefully we all on top of that now.”

Scheelite will make his third appearance this campaign on Saturday in the Carlton Draught Benchmark 74 Handicap (1600m) at Bendigo.

The team had hoped to target the Listed Golden Mile on the same day, but a lower ballot position prevented that plan.

His two runs so far have been consistent—seventh over 1100m first-up at Flemington and fifth at Moonee Valley on March 22.

“We put a line through Moonee Valley on the leaders’ track, but we thought his first-up run was a pass mark and hopefully we’ll see a bit more from him this time,” Keys said.