"He loves Perth": Rey Magnerio primed for Quokka victory

Rey Magnerio is currently the $4.80 second favourite with Sportsbet alongside Caballus for the $5 million Quokka on Saturday, while Jigsaw is the $4.40 favourite.

The six-year-old is only second-up in his preparation, with his first-up run being a sixth-place finish in the Group 1 William Reid Stakes (1200m) at Caulfield – a sprint which was taken out by Jigsaw.

Speaking on SENTrack & RSN’s Giddy Up, trainer Robbie Griffiths revealed that the brown seems primed for his run in the $5 million sprint.

“He’s very well, he loves the climate and he loves Perth,” Griffiths exclaimed.

“As soon as he bounced off the plane here, he’s just really come on, which is pleasing because I feel as though he wasn’t ready in the William Reid.

“But you don’t want to be ready four weeks out (from the Quokka). I really feel as if he’s come on a lot.”

This isn’t the first time that the son of Magnus has travelled to Perth. In the 2025 Ascot Racing Carnival, Rey Magnerio travelled out west for the first time, where he ran third in the Group 1 Winterbottom and won the Group 3 Gold Rush.

Champion WA hoop Willie Pike rode the gelding in both rides and the jockey has once again elected to ride sprinter this time around in the Quokka – a decision which Griffiths was ecstatic with.

“We were rapt when had the opportunity to grab (Pike) in the Winterbottom, and then he stuck with us in the Gold Rush,” the trainer stated.

“He was pretty keen to stick with him (in the Quokka).

“(Pike) was happy with the way he felt and we’ve been happy with how he’s trained on, so hopefully all that works.”

Renowned form analyst Mark Hunter added his expert touch to the conversation, stating how he believes the race will play out.

Hunter is of the belief that both Jigsaw and Caballus should prove very hard to run down, but Rey Magnerio will have every chance to overtake that leading pair.

“He (Rey Magnerio) should get a good run; he’s drawn well for the race,” Hunter started.

“He should be able to park somewhere between fifth and seventh and have his main dangers (Jigsaw and Caballus) up in front of him – they should take him all the way.

“I think if Jigsaw and Caballus lead, dictate and kick… It’s going to be very hard to run them down, but at least horses like Rey Magnerio should be in that spot just behind them where he is at least close enough to get that chance.”

The Quokka jumps at 5:45pm AEST at Ascot in Race 8.

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