‘No excuses this time’; Jedibeel set for best Group 1 shot yet

It has been nearly two years since Brad Widdup got the feeling Jedibeel could be a Group 1 sprinter and finally he arrives in the right race in Saturday’s Oakleigh Plate at Caulfield.

The six-year-old has been to the highest level five times and has yet to be placed, but Widdup believes he has finally got the right preparation.

“I have been very happy with him, and he has won both his trials,” Widdup said. “We sent him down to Melbourne last week to settle in and he will have a look at Caulfield on Tuesday.

“This is the best preparation he has had for a Group 1.”

“Last year, he came out and won the Challenge Stakes first-up, and it meant he got too much weight in the Galaxy and then we really had to go to the TJ as well.”

“The spring campaign, he was on the Everest path, but I was chasing my tail after he missed his first-up run because of a minor setback.”

“You can put a line through that prep, but there are no excuses this time.”

Jedibeel has been about four to five lengths off the best sprinters in the past year and was only 3-1/2 lengths from Ka Ying Rising in The Everest, although he only beat one home.

His best trip has been the 1100m of the Oakleigh Plate and Widdup feels he gives Mulberry Racing, an Everest slotholder, its best chance of a Group 1 win.

“He is that bit more experienced now and the way he has come back he is stronger. He still has to carry the penalty for his Group 2 win, but I think he is ready for that now,” Widdup said. “He is the best horse Mulberry has had so far, and it would be great to (get) that Group 1 for them.”

Widdup has a strong team at the moment with Savvy Hallie winning the Light Fingers Stakes on Saturday and heading toward the Surround Stakes at the end of the month.

“She probably has a bit more furnishing to do, but she is a two-time Group 2 winner,” Widdup said. “You have to have a crack at the Group 1 against your own age and sex now and I feel she is ready for the 1400m.”

“She is going to get better as she matures and reminds me a bit of Icebath [Widdup’s Champions Mile winner] took her time to fill out.”