Beer aims Mnementh at the Bletchingly Stakes

Craig Williams will be the new rider for Mnementh when the sprinter lines up in a Stakes race at Caulfield.

After giving Albury trainer Mitchell Beer his biggest success when taking out the Listed Santa Ana Sprint Series Final (1200m) at Flemington on July 1, Mnementh will attempt to add the Group 3 Bletchingly Stakes (1200m) on Saturday to his record.

Mnementh led throughout with Blake Shinn aboard at Flemington, but that jockey is committed to a Goldolphin runner that James Cummings will send to the Group 3 race.

“I can certainly understand Blake sticking with the ‘Blue Army’ rather than the ‘Beer Army’,” Beer said.

“I had a chat to Blake after seeing how my horse pulled up and where we wanted to go next, but he indicated he was going to go with one of Godolphin’s.

“So, luckily enough we’ve been able to secure Craig Williams.

“It’s great that good jockeys want to ride him.”

Williams has not ridden since the Group 1 Stradbroke Handicap meeting at Eagle Farm in June.

While Beer shared in a Group 3 win with Max Hinton when in a training partnership at Mornington, he said Mnementh’s win at Flemington was particularly satisfying.

Beer said he was still trying to work out where the sprinter’s improvement had come from over the past 12 months.

“Normally as a trainer you’re scratching your head trying to work out how this has lost three or four lengths in a prep or two,” Beer said.

“So, it’s nice to be on the other side for once and being ‘I don’t know where this has found six lengths’.

“But I’ll take it.

“This horse means so much to me. He’s been so good.

“I remember we backed him at his first start at Wagga.

“There wasn’t a lot of funds in the ‘tin tank’. He’s won a few times when he’s really needed to, and they haven’t been big races, but they’ve meant a lot.

“He’s won at Albury, he’s won a Wagga Town Plate and he won the other day at Flemington, so I think that win at Flemington was my proudest achievement.”