Glorious Goodwood: Jm Jungle too speedy for classy King George rivals
The field was reduced to 11 at the start when Clarendon House planted himself in the stalls, but Jm Jungle, with winner of the 'Dash' Handicap at Epsom on Derby day over the fastest five-furlong course in the country, was soon helping to set a strong pace. The Australian-trained mare, Asfoora, a Group One winner at Royal Ascot last summer, made a brief attempt to challenge against the far rail while She's Quality finished fast down the middle, but Jm Jungle and Jason Hart had just enough left to hold on for a neck success.
It was a second win in the race in the space of three years for the John and Sean Quinn stable, successful in 2023 with the hugely popular Highfield Princess.
'It was easier watching Highfield Princess because she never looked like getting beat,' Sean Quinn said. 'I was hoping, willing for the line to come in the last furlong today, but it did and he toughed it out. The second [She's Quality] came to him and I think he went again.
'He is so good on these downhill tracks, but then he's good at York, he is just a good horse. Jason said after York [in May] that he would love to ride him in the [Group One] Nunthorpe [at the same track] because they will go lickety-split and that will suit him really well. He is a Group Two winner now and we don't have far to go, 20-odd miles [to York], so that is something to look forward to.'
Jm Jungle is top-priced at 16-1 for the Nunthorpe on the third day of York's Ebor meeting later this month.
In Ireland, meanwhile, the news on Friday morning that Thurles racecourse will close with immediate effect was met with sadness and surprise by fans and professionals alike.
Tony McCoy, the 20 times British champion over jumps, and Rachael Blackmore, the first female rider to win the Grand National, both rode their first winners at the County Tipperary track, while leading steeplechasers including Allaho, Sizing John and Amberleigh House landed the track's Grade Two Kinloch Brae Chase.
'It was a major shock this morning to hear the news,' Willie Mullins, the reigning champion trainer over jumps in both Britain and Ireland, said on Friday. 'It will be a huge blow for Irish racing, more specifically Irish jump racing and winter jump racing.
'Thurles is a track that always had beautiful ground in the winter when other tracks couldn't.'
Thurles had been scheduled to stage 11 fixtures during the 2024/25 season.
'I think we'll be doing our best to see if there's any way we can save the track for racing in Ireland,' Mullins said. 'It will need a lot of local support. However, on the bigger scale, Irish winter jump racing needs it too, I think.'
A remarkable 37mm of rain arrived at Goodwood on Thursday and the going was officially heavy by mid-afternoon, but the clerk of the course has since suggested that it was probably no worse than soft and breezy weather ahead of Saturday's Stewards' Cup should accelerate the drying-out process. If so, it can only be good news for George Baker's Get It (3.05) in his attempt to repeat last year's front-running success in Glorious Goodwood's historic sprint handicap.
There was a sense that Get It had a fair slice of luck on his side after last year's victory, not least as he had a perfect draw against the stands' rail, but there was no fluke about his similar all-the-way success in the Wokingham Handicap at Royal Ascot at June, at a track that does not favour front-running tactics to anything like the same extent.
That was a new career-best for George Baker's seven-year-old and he has ended up just one stall further away from the rail this time around, while a drop in Get It's rating during lacklustre spell in Bahrain earlier this year means that he is just 6lb higher in the weights despite two wins already this season.
Pat Cosgrave's rivals will be forewarned of his plan this year but that does not necessarily mean that it will be any easier to counter, and Get It is a tempting 10-1 chance to become the second dual winner of the Stewards' Cup in the space of three years.
Goodwood 1.20 Al Aasy appeared to back out of a struggle more than once in the early years of his career but an overall strike-rate of 40% – 10 wins from 25 starts – is hard to knock and he was a cosy winner of this contest 12 months ago.
Goodwood 1.55 The stoutly-bred French Duke was never a factor after a slow start in the Duke Of Edinburgh Stakes at Royal Ascot last time, Roger Varian's gelding had progressed by the race to that point and could well improve further for this step up in trip.
Newmarket 2.10 An opening mark of 77 looks more than fair for Awaafi, who lost little in defeat under a penalty at Haydock last time and should appreciate the stiffer finish here.
Goodwood 2.30 The lightly raced Waardah improved significantly for the step up from a mile to 10 furlongs at this track last time out and she is bred to progress further for an additional half-mile as she tackles Group company for the first time.
Goodwood 1.20 Al Aasy 1.55 French Duke (nb) 2.30 Waardah 3.05 Get It (nap) 3.45 Mudbir 4.20 Isaac Newton 4.55 Longlai
Thirsk 1.38 Rikki Tiki Tavi 2.15 Nepal 2.50 Bondi 3.25 Blind Beggar 4.05 It Just Takes Time 4.40 Big Leader 5.15 Stormy Pearl 5.50 Captain Vallo
Doncaster 1.45 New Vega 2.20 Dublin Bay 2.55 Valley Ofthe Kings 3.30 Rock Diva 4.10 Anthropologist 4.45 Meet Me In Meraki 5.20 Roundhay Park
Newmarket 2.10 Awaafi 2.45 Kaori 3.20 Sioux Life 4.00 Best Rate 4.35 Moon Angel 5.05 Night On Earth
Lingfield Park 5.10 Crystal Mariner 5.40 Fascinating Lips 6.15 A Mere Bagatelle 6.45 Slipper Time 7.15 Rajeteriat 7.45 Mashaan 8.15 Flicka's Girl
Hamilton Park 5.55 Victor Cee 6.30 Chico Magnifica 7.00 Junkyard Dog 7.30 Classy Al 8.00 Good Point 8.30 Inanna 9.00 Weegeebear
Newmarket 3.20 This drop in grade could see a return to winning form for Sioux Life, a Group Two winner in Italy last year, after coming up short in Group company on her first two starts for Marco Botti.
Goodwood 3.45 Mudbir has an ideal draw against the rail and had no issues with the drop from a mile to seven furlongs when successful on his handicap debut at Sandown in July. He is from one of the Shadwell operation's best families and could well be better than a handicapper in time.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
34 minutes ago
- BBC News
Paqueta 'committed' to West Ham
West Ham manager Graham Potter says midfielder Lucas Paqueta is committed to the club after he was cleared of spot-fixing charges – but Michail Antonio will not be in his squad this two years after the Football Association began its investigation into the Brazil international, Paqueta was cleared of getting booked deliberately to affect a betting 27-year-old had been facing a lifetime the time the FA began its investigation, Paqueta had been heavily linked with a move to Manchester the transfer window not closing until 1 September, there is some nervousness among West Ham fans that the playmaker might be lured though looks at the situation more positively."You never know for sure because anything can happen in the window with anybody," said Potter at a media conference in Atlanta to look ahead to his side's Premier League Summer Series match with Bournemouth on Sunday. "But the news is incredibly positive. If it had gone the other way, there would have been a whole other line of questions."Lucas is happy and committed. He is an important person in dressing room and at the club and we love him. We just want to help him enjoy his football."You can imagine on a personal level for him, having to fight those allegations was an incredible challenge for him. It has been a really tough period in his life and career."It is a credit to him and his family and everyone who has supported him that he has come through."As the written reasons are yet to be published, it is still not known whether Paqueta will take legal action against the Antonio looks to be on his way out of the whether the 35-year-old would be part of his squad for the forthcoming campaign following the signing of another veteran frontman – and Antonio's former podcast partner – Callum Wilson on a free transfer, Potter said simply: "No."Last month, the club said no formal decision had been made on the player whose contract expired at the end of the month."As a long-serving, highly-respected player, and a much-loved member of the West Ham family, the club's absolute priority at this time is to support Michail personally in his journey to resume playing at the highest level," said a had been no update on that prior to Potter's recovered from his horrific car crash in December, Antonio made a playing return for Jamaica during this summer's Concacaf Gold joined West Ham from Nottingham Forest for an undisclosed fee, reported to be £7m, in 2015 and is the club's record Premier League goalscorer, scoring 68 goals in 268 top-flight appearances.
Daily Mail
34 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Inside Daniel Farke's giant survival plan: Why Leeds made physicality and set-pieces the focus of their summer - and the one key position they still want to strengthen, writes AADAM PATEL
The running joke at Leeds United this summer is that if you aren't around 26 years old and tall, then the chances are the club aren't interested. And in reality, that is very much the plan, with all seven signings at Elland Road so far at least 5ft 11in and around their prime. When the recruitment team at Leeds set out their strategy for the transfer window and their bid to stay up, physicality and set-pieces were keywords. As one Leeds source told Mail Sport: 'Physicality was something we lacked last season and something we identified as one of the major things we needed to improve if we want to compete in the Premier League. It's no secret either that we had to get better at set-pieces.' Of the 1,115 goals in the Premier League last season, 229 (20.5 per cent) came from set-pieces, excluding penalties. In 2023-24, the figure was 19.8 per cent. 'It's not a coincidence,' said boss Daniel Farke when asked about the signings after Saturday's 1-1 draw against Villarreal. 'If you join the Premier League with one of the smallest groups, there's more pressure. You have to make sure you're good at defending corners and set-pieces. We are more likely to need to score goals from set-pieces because I'm not sure if we can dominate games the way we did in the Championship.' Staying in the Premier League has never been more difficult for newly promoted teams. In the last two seasons, all of the promoted clubs have been immediately relegated, something that had only happened once before, in 1997-98. Leeds' analysis identified the clear difference between intensity levels in the Premier League and the Championship and pinpointed physicality across all positions as something they had to focus on for their return to the top flight. First through the door was 6ft 4in Slovenian central defender Jaka Bijol from Udinese for £15million. The 26-year-old led the rankings at Euro 2024 for clearances (38) and was second behind Virgil van Dijk for headed clearances (21) despite playing in only four games at the tournament. Bijol continued to post impressive defensive numbers in Serie A last season, ranking joint-fourth for aerial duels won (110), fifth for headed clearances (103) and fourth for overall clearances (182). That said, his style does see him on the receiving end of the referee's ire — only two players picked up more yellow cards last season than he did (11), and he was the second most booked defender in Serie A over the last three seasons with 25 yellows. Bijol will be suspended for Leeds' first game against Everton, due to the red card he got playing for Udinese in his last Serie A game in May. Sebastiaan Bornauw is another giant at centre half and fits the bill at 6ft 3in. The 26-year-old signed for £5.1m from Wolfsburg and, with 11 goals in 140 Bundesliga games, will certainly be an asset going up. 'I think as a centre back, I am dangerous in front of goal. I like set-pieces, offensive set-pieces,' the Belgian said when he signed. The 24-year-old led the rankings at Euro 2024 for clearances and was second behind Virgil van Dijk in headed clearances Lukas Nmecha also joined from Wolfsburg and at 6ft 1in will be a handful. There were early signs of his strong hold-up play when he started against Manchester United in Stockholm and he scored in both of Leeds' friendlies in Germany, albeit against weak opposition. Nmecha has struggled with injury, playing only 22 league games in the last two seasons and starting only three, so he was let go for free. The 26-year-old averaged four shots per 90 minutes and had the best expected goals ratio per 90 minutes (0.90) of any player to feature in at least 400 Bundesliga minutes in 2024-25. These are small sample sizes, but Leeds see potential in a player who also has some Premier League experience — he played two games for Manchester City late in their 2017-18 title-winning season. A direct replacement for Junior Firpo will be Swedish left back Gabriel Gudmundsson, who played nine Champions League matches for Lille last season and joined in a deal worth £10m. He scored four goals and got three assists in 137 games for Lille in all competitions and the 26-year-old will be key in moving Leeds upfield, with only two Ligue 1 left backs carrying the ball a further distance (4,032 metres) last season, while none of those had more shots following a ball carry than he did (nine). At 5ft 11in, he is tall for his position and crucially, his injury record is good but Leeds have a hole to fill, with Firpo providing four goals and 10 assists last season. If Gudmundsson can improve his end product, then Leeds may have a gem on their hands. The arrival of Sean Longstaff for £12m from Newcastle offers Leeds something they severely lacked in their last season in the top flight — bundles of Premier League experience. The 27-year-old has played 171 times in the Premier League. Sean Longstaff provides his new side with Premier League experience after making the switch from Newcastle United Longstaff's hard-working style is also bound to endear him to a fanbase who appreciate industrious players willing to give their all — he has covered the most distance per 90 minutes of any Premier League player to play at least 2,500 minutes over the last two seasons (12.3km). Also joining is Anton Stach, the 6ft 4in twice-capped German midfielder who signed from Hoffenheim for £17m. Stach led all Bundesliga players across the past two seasons for interceptions (120), and he ranked third for possession won (393) and fourth for each of tackles (142) and duels won (381). His versatility — similar to that of captain Ethan Ampadu, who is adept in central defence and defensive midfield — could also prove handy. Last season, the 26-year-old filled in at centre back in 33 per cent of his Bundesliga minutes, with the rest coming in midfield. Dealing with set-pieces was also a key factor in signing Brazilian goalkeeper Lucas Perri from Lyon for £15.6m but above all, Leeds wanted a good shot-stopper with a commanding presence. In Ligue 1 last season, according to Opta's xGoT (Expected Goals on Target) goalkeeping model, Perri prevented six goals and posted a save percentage of 72.5 per cent. His numbers were even more impressive in the 2023 Brazilian top flight, registering a 78.4 per cent save ratio — the best of any goalkeeper with 10 or more games — and preventing an incredible 12 goals according to his xGoT. Perri is 27 and like the other arrivals brings important top-level experience. 'They are all really good footballers,' said Farke. 'We don't want to play basketball with them. They fit with what we want to do and they add a special physicality. Speaking about age, this is what I wanted because sometimes you underestimate how important experience at this level is. 'Often, you could go with a 30-plus player who has played many games but is on the way down. I didn't want to do that. We are ambitious and want to be back for good. The pressure is on us and they have to live it straight away. 'For that, I wanted experience of Premier League level, of Bundesliga level, Serie A level and so on. It's important to have players with good age, good experience but not the finished products. 'We didn't want to have projects. We didn't want players just happy to get another contract. We want players who are ambitious. The general theme is quality and players on the way up the hill in their career.' Leeds are still in the market for a first-choice striker, a left winger and are open to back-up options in other positions. As Farke says, central defence and central midfield are sorted and they will go into their Premier League opener against Everton under the lights at Elland Road, ready for battle.
Daily Mail
34 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Zharnel Hughes dedicates 100m win in UK Athletics Championships to his aunt on the day of her funeral in emotional speech
Zharnel Hughes missed his aunt's funeral to reclaim his 100 metres title at the UK Athletics Championships last night. Britain's fastest man recovered from a slow start to win in Birmingham in 9.94sec, ahead of world indoor gold medallist Jeremiah Azu and defending champion Louie Hinchliffe. Hughes then dedicated his victory to his late aunt Iola, who was being laid to rest in the country of his birth, Anguilla, yesterday. 'Today is a very difficult day for me,' revealed the 30-year-old. 'My auntie is getting buried right now. Her funeral is going on and I'm missing out. 'I was very close with her, so today was a bit of a mental strength game for me. I almost started crying. This win was for her.' Hughes' next target is to claim a medal at next month's World Championships in Tokyo, just like he did after he won his last British crown in 2023, when he went on to secure a bronze in Budapest. Britain's fastest man ran the 100m in 9.94sec ahead of world indoor gold medallist Jeremiah Azu In the women's 100m, Amy Hunt stormed to victory in a new personal best of 11.02sec after defending champion Daryll Neita was disqualified for a false start. But Neita – who finished fourth at last summer's Olympics – should still be selected for Tokyo having already run the qualifying standard. Earlier, Molly Caudery defended her British pole vault title with a leap of 4.85 metres, the highest in the world outdoors this year. The 25-year-old will now go to Tokyo bidding to win her first global outdoor medal and make amends for her heartbreak at last summer's Paris Olympics, when she went in as favourite but crashed out in qualifying.
