Trainer Mark Walker’s star three-year-old Jimmy Rea underlined his sparkling form in a barrier trial on Tuesday as he keeps gearing up for his impending comeback in August.
An eye-catching second to Affleck in the Group 1 Singapore Guineas (1600m) – which was his first test over the mile - on May 15, Jimmy Rea has not raced since, but looked like he never skipped a beat going with the way he ran at his barrier trial. Ridden by his regular partner Manoel Nunes, the son of Thewayyouare was dropped back to second-last before running on for second to Theo Kieser’s smart sprinter Super Winner, despite being hard held all along.
A suitably impressed Nunes said that Jimmy Rea was coming along the right way for his next prep as a four-year-old, where the Group 2 EW Barker Trophy (1400m) on November 13 was pencilled in as his main objective.
“He trialled really well today and gave me a very good feeling throughout,” said the reigning Singapore champion jockey.
“He was pretty impressive as I didn’t push him, I just gave him a soft run but he still managed to finish second. So if I were to push him I think he would probably have won.
“He’s a good classy horse and feels more mature now. He’s in good form and he just keeps improving with each run.”
Walker could not be any happier with the way the Kevin Hickman-owned galloper has progressed, though he has yet to finalise a date for his racing comeback.
“He pulled up well after the Guineas and had a nice break after,” said the Kiwi handler. “He trialled nice today, I told Nunes to just settle him back and give him a quiet trial.
“We are planning to bring him back to the races in August but there are no plans at the moment which day exactly. We want to see how he pulls up first.
“But we plan to run him in the EW Barker Trophy in November. We will obviously have a few more runs leading up to that.”
Currently rated at 85 points, Jimmy Rea is widely considered with Affleck and Kiwi Karma as the top three-year-olds at Kranji this term, having racked up five wins and two placings from eight starts.
