‘He’s $20, I can’t work it out’: Jedibeel plots Quokka strike after Everest detour

Brad Widdup made the decision at the beginning of the year to avoid “the Everest sprinters” to get Jedibeel back to the winner’s circle.

It has resulted in a Melbourne run for fourth in the Oakleigh Plate, where Jedibeel was four-wide without cover.

A Sydney run, where he was unlucky not to win the Galaxy coming from last after drawing one from the outside, when photo finished by Marhoona and finally a Perth run in Saturday’s Quokka.

“Those really good ones have a couple of lengths on him,” Widdup said. “He ran in the Everest last year and wasn’t that far away, but he wasn’t close enough.”

Jedibeel only beat one home in the Everest, but the narrow margin at the top end, he was only 3-3/4 lengths from Ka Ying Rising, closer than most of the horses get in Hong Kong.

 “We had two cracks, and both times we came away thinking he could have won if things had gone his way,” Widdup said. “We got a slot in this race, and he has drawn the middle, which should give him his chance.

“We also get Tyler [Schiller] back on him, who knows him well and has a good record on him.”

Schiller has won six of his 10 rides on Jedibeel, the most recent another luckless effort in the Doomben 10,000, before that he had won the Challenge Stakes and Razor Sharp Stakes on the sprinter.

It seems to always be a jockey merry-go-round for Jedibeel, and Schiller is the fifth different rider in his past five starts.

“Tommy Berry rode him in the Galaxy and I think he would have stuck but Bjorn Baker got in first with [Newmarket winner] Callabus,” Widdup said.

“He has form in two Group 1 sprints, and we get a jockey back on him that knows how to win on him, but he’s $20, I can’t work it out.

“He is going better now than last year, and he has settled in over here really well.”

There looks to be speed in the Quokka with favourite Jigsaw, who has won the Railway Stakes in New Zealand and the William Reid Stakes from the front this year, drawing the outside gate.  Callabus led all the way to Newmarket victory, and Spywire is unlikely to give up his gate one draw without a fight.

“Jedibeel just needs the right back to follow and I’m confident he will be in the finish,” Widdup said. “They are going to go very fast and that’s when he runs his best races.”