Having won on his final start in 2023, Merrijig bounced back to win on debut this year, landing a valuable 1m6f handicap at Chelmsford City on Good Friday for the Beverley House Stables Partnership.
Now six, he has been a late developer but he has strengthened up for his break and appears to have taken his first run of the season in his very long stride.
It was great to have Jack Gilligan on board for a first win for the stable. We've known Jack since he was a boy in Newmarket but he has recently returned from America, where he has been living for the last decade. He rode more than 400 winners there and has made a really promising start since returning to the UK with a current strike-rate of 20 per cent.
We hope that Merrijig will be back out before too long and that he can have a productive year in the staying division. John rides him every day and he is a homebred so we are particularly attached to him. Fingers crossed for a good year ahead for Merrijig and his loyal team of owners.