With rain falling at Caulfield, punters let loose on Jungle Edge in Saturday’s Group III Neds Sir John Monash Stakes (1100m) and the rising 10yo marvel did not let them down.
With Jade Darose in the saddle and his favoured ground underfoot, Jungle Edge hung tough down the straight to defeat Viridine (Poet’s Voice) by three-quarters of a length with I Am Someone (Onemorenomore) one and a half lengths back in third
It was stakes-win number seven for the gelded son of Dubawi (IRE) to advance his record to 19 wins, 12 seconds and 12 thirds from 82 starts with earnings of $1,750,710.
Winning trainer Mick Bell made his case for the little Aussie battler to claim a spot in The Everest,
"I’d still like to have a crack at The Everest," Bell told Racing.com.
"I think the ATC should give us a slot and show the race is not just for billionaires and that it’s for everyone.
"If he runs in it he won’t run last and if it was a heavy track at Randwick, who knows what he would do.
"The last time he ran up there in the Sydney Stakes on the same day, he and Pierata ran two seconds faster than they did in The Everest so I don’t know what you’ve got to do.
"At the moment we’re all (Victorians) lepers so we can’t go there so we’ll see what happens."
Bell said he was also thrilled for Darose.
"She didn't get a chance to ride him when he was still going through the grades and after that it made it hard to put her on," Bell said.
"She took it on the chin but got a bit cross a couple of times when she thought I might've been able to put her on and didn't.
"But it's worked out terrific. She's a very hard worker and she deserves all the success."
Jungle Edge is the best of four winners from as many to race out of the winning Carnegie mare Jungle Girl who is a half-sister to the dam of dual Listed stakes winner Brief Kiss (Brief Truce) and a half-sister to Sydney winner Jewel Of Africa the dam of the stakes-placed Picholine (Dehere), herself the dam of Group I Victoria Derby winner and Group I South Australia Derby winner Rebel Raider (Reset) as well as the talented Group III winner Shamoline Warrior (Shamardal).
