What better way could there be to end a champagne day’s racing at Morphettville on Saturday than watch the cult hero Jungle Edge gallop his opponents into the ground in the Group III DC McKay Stakes (1100m).
It was a story simply told. Apprentice Georgina Cartwright bounced the 9yo son of Dubawi straight to the front and stayed there. Relishing his favoured soft conditions, Jungle Edge kept up a relentless gallop to safely hold the challenge of Behemoth (All Too Hard) by one and three-quarter lengths with Kabini (Written Tycoon) a length and a quarter back in third.
Trained at Cranbourne by Mick Bell, Jungle Edge took his stakes tally to six while advancing his record to 18 wins, 12 seconds and 12 thirds from 79 starts with earnings of 1,668,430.
All 18 of the geldings wins have been on soft or heavy tracks and he is 0 for 26 on good tracks.
The closest he has come in 13 Group 1 attempts is a second on a heavy track in the Kingsford Smith Cup at Eagle Farm back in 2017 the same year he finished third in the All Aged Stakes at Randwick and The Galaxy behind Russian Revolution and Redzel and both of those came on a heavy track.
The ageless warrior is expected to line up in the Group 1 $400,000 The Goodwood (1200m) at Morphettville on May 16.
Bred by Chris and Michelle Strickland, 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) and the Listed Werribee Cup winner Cadillac Mountain (Reset).
Jungle Girl has not had a live foal since Jungle Edge. After not having a mare return submitted for three years, she was dropped from the official records in 2016.
The Strickland’s still own Jungle Edge’s 3-time winning half-sister Jungle Magic (Magic Albert) who has a yearling colt by Reset and is in foal to Charge Forward.
