Jimmy ready to rock in red-hot Memsie

Triple Group One winner Jimmysstar (NZ) (Per Incanto) will have his first start in Melbourne this Saturday since his unplaced effort in the Gr.1 William Reid Stakes (1200m) in the autumn.

Following that, the Ciaron Maher-trained gelding ran well without winning in both Sydney and Brisbane.

Jimmysstar will kick off his spring campaign in the Gr.1 Memsie Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield, and Maher is confident the seven-year-old gelded son of Per Incanto will “make his presence felt”.

“He worked at Warwick Farm yesterday (Monday) on the course proper. His work was very sharp. His two jumpouts have been very sharp, this prep, and I’m just rapt with the way he’s come up,” said Maher, who won the Memsie in 2022 with Snapdancer (in partnership with David Eustace).

“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.

“He’s full of running and zinging up in pretty slick times, and he hasn’t been asked to do anything, either.

“I’m sure he’ll make his presence felt.”

Maher and connections elected to bypass June’s Gr.1 Stradbroke Handicap at Eagle Farm, instead opting to send him for a break to ensure he would be up and going for the Memsie Stakes.

The trainer believes that decision will pay dividends in the coming weeks.

“Yeah, definitely,” he said.

“He was always going to carry a lot of weight in the Stradbroke.

“Like I said, he was going well, but probably just didn’t have that little bit of x-factor that he has shown in previous preps.”