Charles Quick knows his galloper Jimmie Jim is a massive outsider this weekend, but isn’t completely dismissing his chances of a shock victory in the 2017 Ballarat Cup.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
The Ross Creek-based trainer will saddle up the five-year-old galloper – which only broke his maiden status earlier this month – in the biggest race of both of their careers on Saturday.
Online bookmaker Sportsbet has Jimmie Jim the clear outsider of the field at $81, but Quick is expecting a better performance than his odds suggest.
“It’s a long shot. You’d have to be brave to put your house on him, but it’s not beyond him if all the cards drop in the race,” Quick said.
“He won’t be the first long shot to win a big race.
“It costs $1600 to put the horse in the race, but if you don’t go you’d always think: what if?”
Quick, who only has a small team in work, said the grey gelding had been going well of late without much luck in his races.
“This preparation he has actually improved out of sight,” he said.
Quick bought Jimmie Jim, a horse by Bel Esprit out of Midnight Sun, at auction after he had injured a tendon early in his career.
The horse was originally sold for $40,000 at the sales.
Jimmie Jim has had 20 career starts, and after some poor early form, has started to show promise in recent outings.
He ran last in a $150,000 race at Caulfield during July, but was beaten less than five lengths by the promising Darren Weir-trained Kiwia. His maiden success at Horsham in early November has been surrounded by placings, including a last-start third at Dunkeld just last weekend.
In Saturday’s listed Ballarat Cup, to be run over 2200m, Jimmie Jim will be ridden by jockey Nikita Beriman and carry 54kg.
