Jimmy Rea & Heroic Valour Ready

The Informant reports:

As well as having runners in two Group Ones and a Group Two at Doomben on Saturday, Matamata trainers Stephen Autridge and Jamie Richards will also shoot for Listed spoils with Jimmy Rea and Heroic Valour.

Jimmy Rea will line up over 1200 metres in the A$100,000 Listed Makers Mark Hinkler Handicap, while Heroic Valour has accepted for that event and also for the A$125,000 Listed Daybreak Lover for the three-year-old sprinters.

Te Akau's number-one jockey Opie Bosson rode Heroic Valour in a solo gallop on the Gold Coast's course proper on Tuesday, running 1000 metres in 1:08.09 and quickening nicely to run the last 600 in 37.7.

A Group One winner of the Diamond Stakes last season, Heroic Valour has added only one win in eight three-year-old starts - the Northland Breeders' Stakes at Ruakaka in September - but placed in the Hawke's Bay Guineas, Barneswood Farm Stakes, New Zealand 2000 Guineas and Karaka 3YO Mile.

He was a close fourth against older horses in the Gr. 1 NRM Sprint at Te Rapa in February, and in his Australian debut in last month's Gold Goast Guineas he finished a brave second, going down by a mere nose after being clearly headed a long way from home.

“We're very happy with him,” Richards said. “Opie came over on Tuesday and rode him and was thrilled with his work. He'll be a good chance in whichever race he lines up in.”

Thewayyouare gelding Jimmy Rea, bred and raced by Kevin Hickman, is a former star of Singapore racing with six wins and a Singapore Guineas placing to his name from his 13 starts at Kranji.

After spending more than 18 months on the sidelines with injury, the now five-year-old Jimmy Rea resumed in a 1200-metre Benchmark 95 handicap at Eagle Farm on May 27. He finished seventh, 5.6 lengths from the winner.

“We were pleased with his first-up run and he's gone the right way since then,” Richards said. “We expected him to take improvement out of the race and he's done that.

“He worked well with Melody Belle and we're very happy with him heading into the race. This will be a much tougher race though, so he will need to step up. We're looking forward to seeing how he goes.”

Melody Belle and Jimmy Rea ran 1000 metres at the Gold Coast on Tuesday in 1:06.08, with the last 600 metres in 37.9.

Saturday's Hinkler Handicap field also features Miss Cover Girl, who won the Gr. 1 Tatt's Tiara at last year's carnival. She went under the hammer at last week's Gold Coast Broodmare Sale, fetching A$500,000. Her new owners decided to keep her in training and left her in the stable of Kelly Schweida.