The Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival is off to a thrilling start with the Group 1 $750,000 Memsie Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield this weekend.
Mr Brightside is favourite to return to winning form first-up in the 2024 Memsie Stakes at Caulfield. Photo: Ultimate Racing Photos.
The race features a highly anticipated rematch between Mr Brightside and Pride Of Jenni with punters having a hard time separating the two weight-for-age stars in the Memsie Stakes betting markets at Ladbrokes.
The Ciaron Maher-trained Mr Brightside, the defending Memsie Stakes champion, is the narrow favorite to win the 1400m race paying $2.40 at time of publish.
The seven-year-old has a strong record at Caulfield, particularly over this distance, having won all five of his starts at the track and trip including the CF Orr Stakes – Futurity Group 1 double here in the autumn.
His most recent start saw him finish third behind Pride Of Jenni in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes, but he is expected to perform better at the shorter distance.
Pride Of Jenni is also a major contender in the Memsie Stakes sitting as the $2.50 second elect.
The mare has a powerful burst of speed and is capable of challenging Mr Brightside for the win. Her first-up record is less impressive than Mr Brightside’s, but she has shown that she can compete at the highest level having won the Queen Elizabeth by a record 6.5 lengths.
She also nearly knocked Mr Brightside off his perch at this course and distance in the autumn beaten a short half-head first-up in the CF Orr.
Other horses to watch include Antino and Gentleman Roy. Antino has a good record over 1400m, while Mr Brightside’s stablemate Gentleman Roy is coming off a three-race winning streak including having won the Group 2 PB Lawrence Stakes (1400m) here a fortnight ago.
The 2024 Memsie Stakes promises to be an exciting race, and it will be interesting to see if Mr Brightside can successfully defend his title when Caulfield Race 9 kicks off at 4:45pm (AEST) on Saturday.
2024 Memsie Stakes Field
| No | Last 10 | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Barrier | Weight | Probable Weight | Penalty | Hcp Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 222x11253x | MR BRIGHTSIDE (NZ) | Ben, Will & JD Hayes | Craig Williams | 4 | 59kg | 118 | ||
| 2 | 396x40x2x4 | AEGON (NZ) | Andrew Forsman | Vlad Duric | 1 | 59kg | 106 | ||
| 3 | 7000×79111 | GENTLEMAN ROY | Ben, Will & JD Hayes | Mark Zahra | 8 | 59kg | 109 | ||
| 4 | 824x7025x4 | BANDERSNATCH | Michael, John & Wayne Hawkes | Jordan Childs | 2 | 59kg | 103 | ||
| 5 | x21500x0x2 | PINSTRIPED | Enver Jusufovic | Ben Allen | 3 | 59kg | 106 | ||
| 6 | 41220x160x | ANTINO (NZ) | Tony Gollan | Ms Jamie Kah | 6 | 59kg | 108 | ||
| 7 | 2611x2121x | PRIDE OF JENNI | Ciaron Maher | Declan Bates | 7 | 57kg | 122 | ||
| 8 | 26x41113x8 | VAGRANT | Mitchell Freedman | Beau Mertens | 5 | 57kg | 94 |
Table Credit: Racing Australia.
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