Stars kick off in the 2025 Memsie Stakes

Caulfield hosts the first Group 1 contest of the Victorian Spring Racing Carnival this Saturday, with the Memsie Stakes (1400m) assembling one of its strongest fields in years. Eleven runners will face the starter, with all bar one already Group 1 winners, underlining the depth of the line-up.

Ciaron Maher will be represented by Another Wil and new stable recruit Zardozi, both resuming after completing their early work in Sydney before heading to the Cranbourne base.

Another Wil hasn’t raced since finishing sixth in the Doncaster Mile, but earlier this year he announced himself with a first-up win in the Group 1 C F Orr Stakes over the same course and distance.

National assistant trainer Jack Turnbull said the gelding had returned carrying extra condition, something he had not done in previous breaks, but is expected to strip fitter with racing.

“He’s bigger than he’s ever been at this point,” Turnbull said.

“He finished up in Sydney last campaign and we spelled him at Bong Bong in a grass paddock during the day and then he was boxed at night.

“He frets a bit, and he’s never done well during a break.

“He put on 40 kilos, which he had never done before. He was in a good rhythm up there and then he was trained up at the beach, so he’s had the best of both worlds before coming down here.”

Turnbull said the horse’s Gosford trials and Cranbourne hit-out had him ready to run, but fitness would improve again after Saturday.

“The Memsie is far from being his Grand Final. After the Memsie it will probably be Makybe Diva and then we can go a couple of ways.

“Nothing is locked in, but hopefully he gets 2000 metres, and we can get to the Cox Plate.”

Zardozi will make her first appearance for Maher after a career previously prepared by James Cummings. She trialled at Randwick in July before switching camps and was last seen at Cranbourne trials on August 7.

“It’s pretty surreal to be given a horse of her calibre that is ready to go, in the sense she’s an older mare, conditioned, educated and you get to plot a path to the Melbourne Cup, potentially, or a Cox Plate,” Turnbull said.

“It will be interesting where we go with her because her form reads everywhere. She’s stayed two miles, she’s effective at 10 furlongs, she’s won an Oaks.

“We’ll see where we get to with her, but the main thing is we get her back winning.”

With such a deep field assembled, the Memsie Stakes promises to be a key pointer to spring riches, and punters can compare markets through trusted betting sites.