William Reid Stakes Preview and Tips 22/03/25

It might be Golden Slipper Day at Rosehill Racecourse on Saturday but you can’t forget about the William Reid Stakes, which is run on the same day at Moonee Valley Racecourse. There is a whole stack of Group One races on top of the William Reid Stakes, including the Golden Slipper, the George Ryder Stakes and more.

We see a small field for the 2025 William Reid Stakes, with just nine runners confirmed. The current favourite with PlayUp is Jimmysstar, who will jump from barrier two. The likes of She's Bulletproof and Benedetta aren’t that far behind in the odds either, so there are a few decent choices for the race on Saturday.

Get yourself prepared for one of the biggest race days of the year with my Saturday tips at OnlyRacing. I have tips for the William Reid Stakes along with all the other Group One races this weekend. I’ve gone through the field for the William Reid Stakes and nailed down my best bets, so let’s get stuck in.

I’m expecting a moderate pace for the 2025 William Reid Stakes. Schwarz has got some barrier speed and we did see him lead all the way in the Australia Stakes, so look out for more of the same again on Saturday. Reserve Bank and Arabian Summer could also look for a prominent position with their barrier speed.

Jimmysstar, the favourite, isn’t really known for his barrier speed, so look for him to settle near the rear of the field, finding some cover quickly from barrier two. What he does have, though, is fast closing speed, so the small field should work to his benefit as he’ll look to weave his way through traffic to claim a win.

Going with the current favourite for the William Reid Stakes, Jimmysstar, who is paying $2.90 at the time of writing with PlayUp. It’s easy to see why the 5YO comes into this one as the favourite, thanks to a stellar performance in the Oakleigh Plate last time out, winning my 1.3L.

He got the better of runners like She’s Bulletproof and Rey Magnerio, both of whom line up again here in the William Reid Stakes. Ethan Brown was on board for that win and I think he’ll deploy the same race tactics again here. It’s a small field, which should work to his advantage. He is good enough to get the job done.

Benedetta is currently sitting on the third line of betting and there is a little bit of value about her as well. At Bet365, you can currently pick up Benedetta at odds of $6.00 to win the race. Her performance last time out in the Newmarket Handicap wasn’t really anything to write home about, but the weights didn’t work in her favour.

This time out, she’ll be carrying 2kg less than the top weight, so that will help her out here. She was also stuck in traffic in the Newmarket Handicap and if she had a little more luck, she would have probably been right in it. Gets another go at the 1,200m, which I think is suitable, so let's see what she can do.

At $12 with Dabble, Rey Magnerio presents some serious value. He is another coming through the Newmarket Handicap and he went a little too hard too early there and ended up pulling up with an issue, finishing 11th out of 15 runners. In his run before that, he finished third in the Oakleigh Plate and wasn’t too far behind Jimmysstar.

Gets a great barrier (four) and Jye McNeil, who has been onboard the entire prep, sticks with him again here. He also gets in a little better at the weights this time, so there is a lot to like and a top-three finish is certainly in the cards on Saturday. I’ll be taking Rey Magnerio for the place, just to be safe.

Schwarz hasn’t followed a similar pattern compared to others in this one and we haven’t seen the stallion since early February, when he finished last in the CF Orr Stakes. Since then, he has been back at the trials and finished first in both of them. With QuestBet, Schwarz is going around with odds of $8.25 to claim the win.

A drop back in trip is just what the doctor ordered I think as he was weakening in the closing stages of the CF Orr Stakes (1,400m) and he gets back to 1,200m here. Gets a good draw as well, giving jockey Jamie Mott some options and he’ll probably go forward and look to control the race.

Each of the nine runners is given somewhat of a chance in the William Reid Stakes. Reserve Bank currently slots in as the runner with the highest odds and he is still going around at $17 with Bet Right, at the time of writing. His odds have shortened considerably since opening at the $26 mark.

It does seem like he lacks a little bit of class, but he is still worth a shot. He tackles this one second-up after finishing sixth (out of 17) in the Inglis Sprint last time out, 2.6L off the pace. Gets in light at the weights and will be all the better for the run under his belt. Jockey Luke Currie sticks with Reserve Bank and there’s plenty of upside.

All my William Reid Stakes horse racing tips and their odds can be found here:

Bookmaker	Tip	Odds
	Jimmysstar (win)	$2.90
	Benedetta (each-way)	$6.00/$2.10
	Rey Magnerio (place)	$3.20
	Schwarz (place)	$2.45
	Reserve Bank (place)	$3.90