Trainer Mick Bell’s tough sprinter Jungle Edge will push on towards a start in the Group 1 $1.5m Stradbroke Handicap (1400m) at Eagle Farm on June 10.
Jungle Edge, above, will go on to run in the Stradbroke Handicap. Photo by Steve Hart.
Jungle Edge collected another $140,000 in prizemoney when he ran second to the Kris Lees trained Clearly Innocent in the Group 1 $700,000 Darley Kingsford-Smith Cup (1300m) at Eagle Farm last Saturday taking his overall earnings to $654,610.
Bell has reported that the six year old has pulled up well after regular rider Kevin Forrester let the gelding roll along in front on the heavy 8 rated track and the Cranbourne based trainer is keen to extend his stable star’s stay in Queensland.
“He has pulled up exceptionally well so the ride continues and we’re looking forward to the Stradbroke,” Bell told racing.com.
“The winner was too good but halfway up the straight I thought we had them covered.
“When he races like that he usually doesn’t get beat.”
“The pace is different in a 1400m race and he had to rock along a little bit yesterday because of his barrier, so it could be a different story in the Stradbroke.”
Jungle Edge is an extremely good wet tracker and handled the controversial Eagle Farm surface a lot better than most of his rivals.
“Their bad luck is my good luck,” Bell said.
“You need luck to win any of these races and we’ve been extremely fortunate to have some luck with the weather and the tracks.”
Jungle Edge was at his best two starts back at Doomben on a heavy 8 rated track when he led all of the way for a comfortable win in the Group 3 $125,000 Taxibox BRC Sprint (1350m) at Doomben on May 20.
Jungle Edge’s second placing in the Kingsford-Smith Cup was the gelding’s third placing at Group 1 level after running third in both the $700,000 Galaxy (1100m) at Rosehill and the $600,000 All Aged Stakes (1400m) at Randwick during the 2017 Sydney Autumn Carnival.
Jungle Edge has been allocated 54kg for the Stradbroke Handicap but the weights are certain to be raised with top weight Black Heart Bart (58.5kg) already being announced as a non-runner.
