If form patterns are any indication, Jimando will win Saturday's Winter Championship Heat at Flemington at good odds.

Jimando's last two second-up outings have reaped wins over the Flemington 1400m course with bookies offering the generous prices of $12 and $15 in those successes.

One part of the equation is in place with the TAB offering $13 about Jimando repeating his personal history in Saturday's $80,000 contest.

But not everything has gone the Tony McEvoy-trained gelding's way since his promising first-up third at Morphettville Parks on May 17.

"He had a raised temperature for a couple of days," McEvoy said.

"I had to back off him a little bit and that's why there's the gap (six weeks) between runs."

McEvoy says Jimando recovered quickly from his minor issue but he brought the four-year-old up to race fitness slowly, which he added was not ideal.

However, McEvoy said Jimando has pleased him with his work leading up to his Flemington assignment.

"If I was worried about him, I wouldn't bring him over (to Melbourne)," Hayes said.

Jimando will proceed to the Winter Championship Final on July 12 if he earns enough points on Saturday.

McEvoy said the 1600m distance of the final would suit Jimando better than the 1400m of the Winter Championship heat.

Apprentice Harry Coffey has been booked to ride Jimando despite the fact the young jockey cannot use his 2kg claim in the race.

Coffey can use his claim when he rides McEvoy's other Flemington runner Pit Boss in the Brian Beattie Handicap (1610m).

Pit Boss won a Class 1 at Balaklava two starts back but finds himself at the top of the weight for the open three-year-old race.

The Casino Prince gelding will carry 57kg after Coffey's claim in a race McEvoy said was a winnable assignment for the gelding.

"When you look at the ratings of the race, it's not a strong race, and he's a good little horse," McEvoy said.