In the past twelve months, over trips beyond six furlongs, Jimmysstar has won the Weekend Hussler, All Aged, and Russell Balding, while being too far back in the Damien Oliver and desperately unlucky in last year’s Sir Rupert Clarke. He’s arguably been hampered by the lure of The Everest, which has often drawn him away from his optimal distance range.
Jimmysstar simply too good in the $3million Russell Balding Stakes 🔥🔥🔥@cmaherracing @Brown_ethan8 claim another feature 🏇🏇 pic.twitter.com/aHsJnmTJ1r
— Australian Turf Club (@aus_turf_club) November 1, 2025
With the ability to sustain brilliant speed over an extended period, his talents are best showcased at seven furlongs. To win below 1400 metres, he needs a strong pace that allows him to build into the race and maintain top speed without relying on an explosive turn of foot.
A prime example came in the Oakleigh Plate, where the blistering tempo suited him perfectly, enabling him to use his exceptionally high cruising speed while others tapered off late. In the final 800 metres of that race, Jimmysstar recorded sectional splits of 68.3km/h (800–600m), 65.7km/h (600–400m), 66.4km/h (400–200m), and 65.2km/h (200m–home). Elite sectional figures that portray his sustained speed.
All of this is to say that once Jimmysstar is allowed over seven furlongs, punters can expect the best of him. Thus, he’s an overwhelmingly strong favourite to win on Saturday afternoon at his optimal trip. Do I think $1.90 is any sort of value? No, but I’ll be at no point taking a strong stance against his chances.
Angel Capital returned as a four-year-old at The Valley, well supported and winning in scintillating time. He then went on to start a pronounced 2/1 favourite of the Sir Rupert Clarke, before being tragically beaten with the unluckiest of runs. He clearly should have won on that occasion; nonetheless, we can use the market’s expectation of him to produce a usable performance rating for him here.
SEPALS IS A GROUP 1 STAR ⭐
Craig Williams makes it a Group 1 double and wins his eighth Rupert Clarke Stakes!
Cliff Brown is back at the top as a trainer 👏👏 pic.twitter.com/V5tmV8JzgP
— 7HorseRacing 🐎 (@7horseracing) September 20, 2025
Next, he was sent to surmount Everest and the world’s best horse, Ka Ying Rising, where he finished a respectable sixth, closing in the race’s fastest concluding 400 metres. Similarly to Jimmy, he’ll prefer seven furlongs over six, and it’s reasonable to expect a career-best performance from him on Saturday afternoon, provided everything goes well for him.
KA YING RISING reaches the summit and wins The Everest! 🇦🇺💰 pic.twitter.com/c0suDr3FMV
— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) October 18, 2025
From a form perspective, it’s difficult to suggest that there is an edge in the market at this stage. That said, there may be a length or two of improvement in Angel Capital that we haven’t yet seen, and if you wanted to get creative, it would be reasonable to adjust his price to a level where he becomes the bet in the race. Do I necessarily want to do that? Not particularly, but I wouldn’t begrudge someone for doing so.
For the sake of a tip, I’d lean toward Angel Capital, whose fresh legs may give him the edge over Jimmysstar, who may have already run his peak this preparation. I’d be genuinely surprised if any other runner were to win, given the significant disparity in performance ratings between these top two and the rest of the field. It shapes as a match race between two elite sprinter-milers, prepared by the nation’s two premier trainers.
