MEMSIE STAKES
$400,000, Group One, WFA, 1400m
HISTORY
One of the newest Group Ones in Australian racing – the race has only carried the status for the past two years despite having a who’s who list of winners.
THE BIGGEST NAMES TO WIN IT
Heroic (1925/26), Ajax (1938-40), Tranquil Star (1945), Lord (1958-61), Galilee (1968), Naturalism (1992), Dane Ripper (1998), Sunline (2000/01), Makybe Diva (2005), El Segundo (2006), Miss Finland (2007), Weekend Hussler (2008), So You Think (2010), Atlantic Jewel (2013)
THIS YEAR’S FIELD
The trail to the major Group Ones starts here and the race has attracted a maximum field of 16 runners with four emergencies.
Seven are previous Group One winners: Happy Trails, Boban, Temple Of Boom, Volkstok’n’barrell, Magicool, Rising Romance and Smokin’ Joey.
THE SPEED
Expect Entirely Platinum to jump out and lead to try and pinch the race the same way he attempted to do in the CF Orr Stakes in the autumn when he was second to Dissident.
Hi World and Temple Of Boom should also be prominent with Smokin’ Joey and Stratum Star looking to take a sit.
WHAT THOSE IN THE KNOW ARE SAYING
“Bloody oath!” Chris Waller emphatically answers when asked if Boban can win the Memsie Stakes.
“I think the pace of 1400 metre races suits him better these days,” Tony Gollan on Temple Of Boom stepping beyond his pet distance of 1200m to a trip he has placed over once in four starts.
“She’s been building up really well and I’m sure it will be a good stepping stone into a good spring,” David Hayes believes Rising Romance will improve out of the race.
THE EARLY MONEY
The Chris Waller-trained Boban, fresh from a Brisbane winter campaign that netted him the Doomben 10,000, opened favourite at $5 and is already into $4.80 as punters bank on residual fitness.
There has also been early money for Magicool ($21-$18) and Hi World ($10-$9) while Sertorius has drifted ($18-$23).
THE RECENT HISTORY
Dissident was first-up, settled handy and ran away to win by 2-1/4 lengths from Sweet Idea.
Atlantic Jewel settled handy and went on to win easily before winning the Stocks Stakes second-up.
Sincero came into the race first-up, settled midfield and won by two lengths, defeating Happy Trails.
King’s Rose settled back in the field and made a long run to overtake Heart Of Dreams on the line. Went on to win the Stocks Stakes and then run second in the Emirates and Toorak.
So You Think started his massive 2010 spring with a win here, sitting on the speed he won from a fast-finishing Whobegotyou. The victory kicked off a carnival in which the Bart Cummings-trained horse also won the Underwood, Yalumba, Cox Plate and Mackinnon Stakes and ran third in Americain’s Melbourne Cup.
RECENT HISTORY TELLS US
Fresh, young horses win this race.
Of the last ten winners, seven have been first-up, three have been second-up and only one horse has been older than five – Makybe Diva won it as a six-year-old.
That seems to set it up for the following – Magicool, Volkstok’n’barrell, Hi World, Setinum, Rising Romance and Stratum Star – who all fit the criteria.
