Popular gelding Jungle Edge is set to pass $1 million in prize money when he returns to Brisbane and he could also be a surprise starter in an unlikely race as part of his winter campaign.
The weather will dictate the bookmakers’ price for Jungle Edge in the Group Two Victory Stakes at Doomben as on a wet track he will be close to favourite and on the dry double-figure odds.
Doomben was in the soft range on Wednesday with some showers predicted later in the week..
Jungle Edge has won 13 races and they have all been on wet tracks only four placings on good tracks.
He has $934,000 in the bank and there is $122,000 on offer to the winner on Saturday.
Trainer Mick Bell summed up Jungle Edge perfectly as prepared to float the gelding from Sydney to the Gold Coast on Wednesday.
“On a heavy track he is a Group One horse but on a good track he is Group Three horse,” Bell said.
Brisbane racegoers know exactly what Bell is talking about as last winter Jungle Edge won the Group Three BRC Sprint and was second in the Group One Kingsford Smith, both on heavy tracks.
“I reckon there were two horses which handled Eagle Farm and he was one of them. Then they switched the Stradbroke to Doomben and it was a hard track and he was well beaten,” Bell said.
Jungle Edge has been racing in Sydney where he finished a surprise second to Redzel in the Challenge Stakes on a good track.
But he was then well beaten in the Group One Galaxy and Group One TJ Smith Stakes.
“The weather deserted us in Sydney. I think it was the first relatively dry autumn in Sydney for years which was exactly what we didn’t want, ” Bell said.
“It will be the same in Brisbane. He is there for the Group One 10,000, Kingsford Smith and Stradbroke. But I won’t be running him on a rock-hard track.”
Bell said the weather played such an important part in Jungle Edge’s campaigns he might even back him up in the Bat Out Of Hell (900m) at the Gold Coast on Saturday week.
“I am not saying he will run in it but if rain arrives on the Gold Coast he can back up over 900 metres every week,” Bell said.
“There is a Harley Davidson bike for the winning trainer and we have been having a good laugh about that.”
Bell said one advantage Jungle Edge had this year was he was heading straight to Brisbane from Sydney.
“Last year he went back to run at Warrnambool in Victoria before heading up to Queensland,” Bell said.
