Godolphin galloper Pericles misses Memsie Stakes for softer assignment at The Valley

Godolphin has Pericles primed to score his first win in nearly 12 months at The Valley on Saturday after bypassing the Group 1 Memsie Stakes.

Godolphin has Group 1-placed galloper Pericles primed to strike second-up in the So You Think Stakes (1500m) at The Valley on Saturday before attention turns to top-class success.

Trainer James Cummings bypassed the Group 1 Memsie Stakes (1400m) last Saturday at Caulfield in a bid for Pericles to gain confidence out of the easier Valley option.

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Pericles placed third at Caulfield in the Group 2 PB Lawrence Stakes (1400m) first-up behind Gentleman Roy and Pinstriped, who ultimately won the Memsie in a minor upset.

Godolphin’s Melbourne representative Nacim Dilmi said Pericles would appreciate The Valley on Saturday.

“We took the easier option going into the So You Think rather than the Memsie, we believed the Memsie would’ve been a little bit too hard for him with the type of horses in the race,” Dilmi said.

“He probably would’ve run well without winning but we just want to get the horse winning to get his confidence up and get back up to the top level again.

“We spaced his run and 1500m now, we’ve done enough work for him to be fit for his second-up run.”

Pericles, to be ridden by Blake Shinn, is a $2.50 favourite from Munhamek ($5), Pounding ($8) and Attrition ($8).

The five-year-old Street Boss gelding’s last win came in the Group 2 Tramway Stakes in Sydney a tick over 12 months ago.

Pericles is favourite to win the So You Think Stakes at The Valley on Saturday. Picture: Jeremy Ng/Getty Images

Pericles has placed in five of eight starts since including the Silver Eagle, Golden Eagle, Group 1 Futurity Stakes and Group 1 Doncaster Mile.

The Epsom Handicap (1600m) in Sydney next month could be a Group 1 option for Pericles to snare a deserved top-class success.

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“He’s multiple Group 1 placed without winning, it’s frustrating but at the end of the day he runs really well and I’m sure he’s got a Group 1 race in him very soon,” Dilmi said.

Simarillion and Zeitung are both expected to run well in the Listed Atlantic Jewel Stakes (1200m) on Saturday.

Simarillion was narrowly beaten in the Silver Shadow last start.

Meanwhile, Photograph, a luckless moral beaten at The Valley a fortnight ago, has returned to Sydney for a short freshen up before looking to “find a nice race for her”.

“We don’t want to throw her in the deep end too quickly, there’s not much of her and she’s still lightly raced,” Dilmi said.

“Whether there’s something at the back end of the carnival for her, a black type race, she’s going to be pretty handy for sure.”

Originally published as Godolphin galloper Pericles misses Memsie Stakes for softer assignment at The Valley