While the major races of the Spring Carnival have concluded, Ciaron Maher remains focused on securing further feature race success.
The trainer, who celebrated victory in the $20 million The Everest and prepared a trifecta in the Melbourne Cup, is now aiming for a third consecutive win in the $1 million Group 1 CF Orr Stakes, scheduled to be held at Sandown this Saturday.
Maher achieved victory in the Orr Stakes, previously run as Victoria’s final Group 1 event of the year, with Jimmysstar. This followed his stablemate Another Wil’s triumph in the most recent Orr Stakes, which was Australia’s first feature race of 2025.
Jimmysstar and Another Wil are among the 13 horses entered for Saturday’s prominent race, with stablemate Warnie also a contender.
Jimmysstar secured last year’s Orr Stakes title after winning the Russell Balding Stakes. Despite finishing seventh as the $3.80 favourite in his last start, Maher is confident that the powerful gelding, a winner of the Group 1 Manikato Stakes on September 27, is in peak condition.
“I think he’s going equally as good,” Maher stated when questioned about the horse’s current form compared to the previous year.
“He’s probably going better than his prep in between and I think he’s probably going as good as last spring.
“With a horse like him, you just need things to go your way.”
Jimmysstar is set to face Angel Capital again this weekend, who finished second in last year’s Orr Stakes. Other notable entries include the Godolphin pair Beiwacht and Pericles, Tatt’s Tiara winner Splash Back, and Stradbroke Handicap victor War Machine.
Jimmysstar is vying for a place among Australian racing legends as the Orr Stakes returns to Sandown, a track that hosted the majority of the race’s editions between 1966 and 1996.
Historically, only four horses have won the Orr Stakes multiple times. Manikato (1979-81) and Vo Rogue (1988-90) each achieved a hat-trick when the race was held at Sandown. Lord (1959/60) and Typhoon Tracy (2010/11) are the only dual winners.
While Jimmysstar has secured three of his four Group 1 victories at Caulfield, the traditional venue for the Orr Stakes, Maher expressed his enthusiasm for the gelding to compete on the expansive Sandown Hillside track.
“The bigger the track the better for him. I think Sandown won’t be any excuse,” Maher commented.
A victory in the Orr Stakes would mark Maher’s 71st Group 1 win and his seventh of a Spring Carnival campaign highlighted by Melbourne Cup success with Point Of Law.
Maher had previously won The Everest with Tempted. His other significant Group 1 wins this spring include the Coolmore Stud Stakes with The Next Episode, the Thousand Guineas with Saintly Dancer, and The Might And Power with Land Legend.
For the best racing odds on the CF Orr Stakes, check out the latest markets at Australian betting sites.
