The Group 1 Memsie Stakes (1400m) has been described as the first match race between Pride Of Jenni and Mr Brightside, with both runners returning for their spring preparations at Caulfield on Saturday afternoon.
Pride Of Jenni, who hails from the Ciaron Maher stable, has beaten Mr Brightside the last five times they have met, including their last meeting when the daughter of Pride Of Dubai claimed a breathtaking victory in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes.
2024 Queen Elizabeth Stakes replay – Pride Of Jenni
However, since markets opened on Wednesday morning, Pride Of Jenni has continued to drift with horse racing bookmakers, moving from $2.10 to $2.70 on Friday morning.
Many punters have rallied behind her market rival in Mr Brightside, and he has remained solid betting, marked at $2.70 with Picklebet.
The Ben, Will & JD Hayes-trained gelding has a much better first-up record than his main rival, winning three of his seven fresh runs as compared to the 0-7 fresh record for the mare.
The son of Bullbars kicked off his last spring campaign with a hat-trick of wins, in the P.B. Lawrence Stakes (1400m), Memsie Stakes and Makybe Diva Stakes (1600m) before running into Fangirl in the Group 1 King Charles III Stakes (1500m) in Sydney.
2024 Memsie Stakes replay – Mr Brightside
Outside of the top two, Antino has firmed in betting from an opening price of $7 to $5.50 with Neds.
The Tony Gollan-trained gelding has the best first-up record in the race, winning four of his five fresh runs; however, his only defeat when first-up came in Victoria when he ran fourth at Flemington at the start of spring in 2023.
Gentleman Roy is the only other runner in the eight-horse field that has shortened in betting markets, with the eight-year-old gelding firming from an $11 opening price into $9 following his impressive win in the P.B. Lawrence.
2024 Memsie Stakes Final Field
1. Mr Brightside (4)
- T: Ben, Will & JD Hayes
- J: Craig Williams
- W: 59kg
- F: x3521
- Age: 7YO
- Colour: Bay
- Sex: Gelding
- Sire: Bullbars
- Dam: Lilahjay (NZ)
-454.55
2. Aegon (1)
- T: Andrew Forsman
- J: Vlad Duric
- W: 59kg
- F: 4×204
- Age: 7YO
- Colour: Brown
- Sex: Gelding
- Sire: Sacred Falls (NZ)
- Dam: Toss Up (NZ)
+300
3. Gentleman Roy (8)
- T: Ben, Will & JD Hayes
- J: Mark Zahra
- W: 59kg
- F: 11197
- Age: 8YO
- Colour: Bay
- Sex: Gelding
- Sire: So You Think (NZ)
- Dam: La La Land
+115
4. Bandersnatch (2)
- T: Michael, Wayne & John Hawkes
- J: Jordan Childs
- W: 59kg
- F: 4×520
- Age: 8YO
- Colour: Bay
- Sex: Gelding
- Sire: Casino Prince
- Dam: Divine Faith
+650
5. Pinstriped (3)
- T: Enver Jusufovic
- J: Ben Allen
- W: 59kg
- F: 2x0x0
- Age: 6YO
- Colour: Chestnut
- Sex: Gelding
- Sire: Street Boss (USA)
- Dam: Snitzel Blitz
+145
6. Antino (6)
- T: Tony Gollan
- J: Jamie Kah
- W: 59kg
- F: x061x
- Age: 6YO
- Colour: Brown
- Sex: Gelding
- Sire: Redwood (GB)
- Dam: Mahamaya (NZ)
-153.85
7. Pride Of Jenni (7)
- T: Ciaron Maher
- J: Declan Bates
- W: 57kg
- F: x1212
- Age: 7YO
- Colour: Bay
- Sex: Mare
- Sire: Pride of Dubai
- Dam: Sancerre (NZ)
-416.67
8. Vagrant (5)
- T: Mitchell Freedman
- J: Beau Mertens
- W: 57kg
- F: 8×311
- Age: 5YO
- Colour: Chestnut
- Sex: Mare
- Sire: Pariah
- Dam: My Obsession
+850
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