Statuario managed to win under a brilliant ride from Sean Bowen to win the Perth Gold Cup.
Honestly, I gave up believing he had a chance of winning. He was miles off the leader when turning for home, but Sean didn't look as concerned as I thought he should be. His horse managed to stay on powerfully under a strong ride by Bowen and pulled away after jumping the last.
The French horse was given a shocking ride, which is not for the first time when backing a horse in France. The odds-on favourite got an easy lead, and my selection was at least ten lengths behind him. I don't understand what was going through the jockey's head, as he should've been tracking the favourite.
Jakajaro 14/1 EW (0.5pt EW, 3pl) – Windsor 7.00
There are a few horses in this race that I have backed in recent years, but instead of going for a previous horse I am going for a new one.
Jakajaro was the horse who caught my eye in this Class 2 5f sprint at Windsor on Monday. On older pieces of form when trained in Ireland, he would win this race with ease, but we have not seen that level of form since moving stables. Robert Cowell is the new trainer for this horse, and on the first two runs for the stable, he had run at Meydan. The races he contested at Meydan were Group 2 and 3, so he should find today's race a much easier assignment, especially back in handicap company. I'm not saying for one minute that this will be a walk in the park because it won't be, especially with an official rating of 100.
The form of last year's race brings him into the conversation for this race. He was fourth of nine in a Group 2 at the Curragh, just 2.5L behind Believing. That is a solid form line to follow, the winner is now a Group 1 winner as is the third-placed horse. Jakajaro was also a runner-up at Tipperary behind She's Quality, who recently finished 2nd in a Group 3 and Group 2 this season.
Jakajaro should not have any problems with the good to soft ground at Windsor. There is no further rain expected to fall, and he has already shown that he handles this type of ground before. He was fourth of ten in a Group 3 on this ground at Ascot last year and had form on soft ground the year before when he wasn't a sprinter. Other than the weight he carries, I struggle to see many negatives. You can question his recent form and slight break from racing, but the break isn't too excessive.
Looking at the market at the time of writing it seems that punters and bookmakers are happy to write off Jakajaro, and is currently sitting at 14/1. I think he will probably drift further in the market, but that doesn't put me off from backing him based on the reasons I have just stated.
GambleAware