William Reid 2025 Betting Tips - Will Jimmysstar handle The Valley?

Alex Marsh

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Last updated: Wed. 19 Mar. 2025 15:59

Alex Marsh 19 Mar. 2025

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The 2025 William Reid Stakes takes place on March 22 at Moonee Valley
Jimmysstar is the race favourite following a brilliant first-up win
Benedetta shows potential despite recent challenges; Reserve Bank offers value as an emerging contender

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Jimmysstar defeating She's Bulletproof in the 2025 Oakleigh Plate. (Getty)

The Group 1 William Reid Stakes will be contested on Saturday, March 22 and this 1200m feature headlines the Moonee Valley program.

2025 William Reid Stakes Tips
2025 William Reid Stakes Field & Odds

Scheduled after the Lightning Stakes and Oakleigh Plate, the William Reid Stakes is the only 1200m WFA Group 1 run over the Melbourne Autumn Carnival.

At $3.10 with Neds, Jimmysstar is favourite for the 2025 William Reid Stakes.

2025 William Reid Stakes Tips

2025 William Reid Stakes Best Bet - Jimmysstar

He was a stylish return winner of the Oakleigh Plate on February 22 and the five-year-old has completed a subsequent jump-out at Cranbourne leading into this attempt.

That recent Group 1 triumph was full of merit, as Jimmysstar made ground from off the speed and that was against the pattern of Blue Diamond Stakes Day at Caulfield.

Up the straight-course, he may have been better suited going to the Newmarket Handicap, however, keeping the five-year-old on the fresh side is more important.

Jimmysstar hasn't finished outside of the top two in six first-up attempts (five wins), while he's recorded two wins and a runner-up finish from three second-up runs.

2025 William Reid Stakes Next Best Bet - Benedetta

At the weights, Benedetta wasn't well in via the Newmarket Handicap, where last year's Goodwood Winners had 57kg and she was giving weight to the whole field.

She still should've finished much closer in that 1200m feature, as the daughter of Hellbent found nothing but backsides/traffic over the last 200m in the straight.

That followed a decent return in the Black Caviar Lightning, where 1000m was a little on short side and there's good platform to attack the William Reid Stakes third-up.

Interestingly, Benedetta is another contender in this Group 1 field who has never raced at Moonee Valley, although she's handled just about everywhere else.

2025 William Reid Stakes Value Bet - Reserve Bank

He had worked superbly ahead of a first-up tilt in the Inglis Sprint and after receiving good late market support, Reserve Bank had to settle for a fifth-place finish.

The three-year-old raced too keenly in that straight-course effort, which left him with no late reserves and going straight to 1200m first-up left him a little vulnerable.

Also, it's worth noting that he raced on a Good 3 surface via that recent Flemington return and his previous four appearances were all on rain affected tracks.

This is a big rise in grade for Reserve Bank, but he's a lightly raced colt who still has upside and he should have an early tactical edge on a few of the market elects.

2025 William Reid Stakes Field & Odds

No.	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Barrier	Weight	Odds
1	Jimmysstar (NZ)	Ciaron Maher	Ethan Brown	2	58.5kg	$3.10
2	Maharba	Grahame Begg	Jordan Childs	1	58.5kg	$17
3	Rey Magnerio	Robbie Griffiths	Jye McNeil	4	58.5kg	$11
4	Schwarz	John O'Shea & Tom Charlton	Jamie Mott	5	58.5kg	$9.50
5	Benedetta	Jason Warren	Daniel Stackhouse	6	56.5kg	$6
6	Stretan Angel	Phillip Stokes	Lachlan Neindorf	9	56.5kg	$8.50
7	She's Bulletproof	Charlotte Littlefield	Craig Williams	8	56.5kg	$4.80
8	Reserve Bank	Mick Price & Michael Kent (Jnr)	Luke Currie	3	56kg	$26
9	Arabian Summer	Tony & Calvin McEvoy	Harry Coffey	7	54kg	$11