Trainer and jockey quotes following the Tour d’Horse Sprint won by Jimmysstar at Caulfield on Saturday.
Race Result:
1st: Jimmysstar (C Maher/B Shinn) - $6.50
2nd: Ashford Street (T Dabernig/J Kennedy) - $31
3rd: Rey Magnerio (R Griffiths & M de Kock/J McNeil) - $4.80
Winning Time: 1:03.39 Last 600m: N/A
Margins: Nose x 1/2 neck
Jimmysstar in a nail-biter!
— Racing.com (@Racing) September 21, 2024
The 5YO flashes home & beats Ashford Street right on the line! @cmaherracing @blake_shinn pic.twitter.com/WltOx12qhJ
Winning Trainer: Ciaron Maher
On the win: "Jimmy, he's always, great for Ozzie and the team. Gringotts just got chinned in Sydney, right on the line, so it was good to get one back, just to get up on the line. And they did question when I was going to the 11:00, but he's just furnished and he always works like a sharp horse. I know he can get out over a trip, but he's certainly furnished mentally and physically, and what a way to start back."
Will extend in trip: "Yeah, I think so. Yeah, definitely. He can progress through the grades again. He's always shown that sort of X-factor ability. He's a cool little horse. And yeah, Ash has done a good job with him. The team have done a good job. And Blake Shinn, I said to him that he'd win it in the last 20, and I thought, metres, not centimetres.
On the horse: "Well, he's got a lot of personality. He's very bubbly. He's sort of got one wide eye that sort of looks at you and he's sort of, yeah, you can see his little mind ticking over all the time. And I knew he wasn't quite there last preparation, but, you know, he'll just continue to get better, I think."
Winning Jockey: Blake Shinn
Big win: "It sure was. It was an exciting run by the horse, he was always going to settle back but we were a long way from them. He wasn't really travelling that well because of the fast tempo of the race but I had to bide our time and try and get him as comfortable as he can be because this is a distance probably short of his best but his class shone through. He really savaged the line, Ciaron trusted the horse that he could sprint well at this distance and all the credit goes to him and his team."
Can he make next step: "I think so. His attitude pre-race tells me that he's certainly a more mature horse now, he's always promised that he could measure up to some better class races, it probably just happened a little bit too soon for him last prep but this is a great start to his campaign and I can only see him going forward from here."
