Maher hope Jimmysstar backed for Memsie Stakes glory
An array of elite Group winners, led by Jimmysstar, Angel Capital and Cosmic Crusader, headline Saturday’s Group 1 Memsie Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield.
The star-studded field also boasts 10-time Group 1 winner Mr Brightside, who won the race in 2023, and last year’s winner, Treasurethe Moment, who is the only mare in the field.
Only Cosmic Crusader and Angel Capital are not going into the race first-up, which is expected to be run on rain-affected ground.
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Western Australian Group 1 galloper Cosmic Crusader, now trained at Pakenham by former jumps jockey Andrea Leek, has won both of his Melbourne races, including the Group 2 P.B. Lawrence Stakes over Saturday’s course and distance on August 15.
Angel Capital, one of trainer Chris Waller’s five runners in the 12-horse field, finished third in his first-up run in the Group 2 Missile Stakes (1200m) at Randwick on August 8. The five-year-old is aiming for his first Group 1 victory to add to his Group 2 and 3 successes.
Waller is happy to attack the race with the highly fancied Beiwacht, Birdman, Autumn Boy and Buckaroo, who was third in the race last year behind Treasurethe Moment and Mr Brightside. Autumn Boy (8.50) has been backed heavily and is the best of the Waller runners in the market.
“Angel Capital has had the benefit of a run in Sydney, so he goes into the Memsie second-up, 1400m is as good a distance for him, and he runs well at Caulfield,” Waller said. “I think it’s good to have a bit of a fitness edge on some of his rivals on Saturday.
“Buckaroo has come back really well, and he won a jump-out at Flemington just to give him a bit of bragging rights last week, and he has come through that well. And Autumn Boy, obviously a promising colt, is a Caulfield Guineas (G1, 1600m) winner.”
Beiwacht, who was withdrawn from last week’s G1 Winx Stakes (1400m) at Randwick because of an elevated temperature, is back to full fitness.
Trainer Ciaron Maher predicts that Jimmysstar will make his presence felt on Saturday.
“His two jump-outs have been very sharp this prep, and I’m just rapt with the way he’s come up,” Maher said.
“His couple of runs in the autumn, he might not have been at his best, but he seems to have come back really well, and he’s in a good spot.
“I’m very much looking forward to him kicking off in the Memsie – 1400 metres is arguably his best trip, at the moment, and he’s got a great record at Caulfield.”
Mr Brightside, who has a win and two seconds in the race, missed the autumn carnival after minor surgery to remove a bone chip, and hasn’t raced since last November.
Ben Hayes, who trains in partnership with his brothers Will and JD, said they couldn’t be happier with the veteran galloper.
“He has been off the scene a while, so he’s had a couple of good hit-outs, and this is probably the most forward we’ve had him going into a first-up run,” Hayes said.
“We’re really happy with him, and it’s probably the soundest he’s been for a while. It’s going to be a good Memsie this year, and he’s had a lot of horses try to catch him. Hopefully, he can still hold them off as a nine-year-old.”
Three-time Group 1 winner Tom Kitten, who is a Group 3 victor at the track and distance, is going well, according to Sam Freedman, who trains in partnership with his father Anthony. “He has trialled up nicely a couple of times,” he said.
“Hot race, big field. I think the big field will suit him and a good tempo for a first-up run, but I think he’ll improve. But I probably felt he’d improve first-up last prep when he was obviously an excellent winner at Caulfield over the 1400m.”
Freedman said he expected Tom Kitten to be closing off the race strongly.
Cranbourne training partners Mick Price and Mick Kent Jnr have two runners – Planet Red and Sabaj – who are long odds.
“They’ll present well in the race and run well,” Price said.
