Jm Jungle in great heart for King George repeat bid

John Quinn believes Jm Jungle is in a better place than 12 months ago as his six-year-old aims to defend his crown as king of the speedsters in the Group Two Qatar King George Stakes.

The £300,000-added sprint, run over the minimum trip on the Sussex downs, is one of the fastest in the calendar and this year’s contest has attracted a deep field of equine bullets.

But Quinn, who trains Jm Jungle with son Sean, has every hope his stable favourite has improved in the last 12 months and could make a bold bid to emulate the likes of Lochsong, a dual winner in 1993 and 1994, and Battaash, who dominated with four wins between 2017-20.

Jm Jungle has followed the same path to the race as last summer, landing here in Sussex off the back of a third-placed finish in the Listed City Walls Stakes at York.

“That race was a Listed race but had a Group One winner and multiple Group Two winners in it, so it was in effect a Group race,” said Quinn. “He has been running well all year and he likes Goodwood as he won here as a three-year-old as well so we are hopeful he will go well.

“The horse certainly seems in very good form so we are looking forward to seeing how he gets on.”

It is certainly a race stacked with top-class performers with Night Raider, Jakajaro and Rumstar all in single figures towards the front of the betting.

Night Raider bids to reconnect with his impressive early-season form which saw him win the Palace House and Temple Stakes after a slightly below-par effort in the King Charles III Stakes at Royal Ascot.

Richard Brown, racing adviser for owners Wathnan Racing, said:”We are very happy with him, although after starting the season so well it didn’t happen for him at Ascot.

“I don’t think that Ascot is particularly his track and he was drawn low which wasn’t necessarily beneficial.

“But he certainly ran best of the low draws, he has got a lot of speed and this is a speedy five furlongs and I’m looking forward to seeing him. It will be exciting watching him run here and we are hopeful he can run a big race.”

Sprint specialist Robert Cowell holds similarly high hopes for Jakajaro, hoping the five-year-old can put his “deadly cruising speed” to effect in a race which could be framed for his skill.

“He was out in America where things didn’t really work out for him (on the track), but he had a really good break out at Wesley Ward’s place,” said Cowell.

“Then he came back to ours and we gave him another break, really freshened him up and filled his tanks and got him looking amazing with his weight and his coat.

“His work has improved and he has just got quicker over the winter. He always had ability even before he came to us but he’s got quicker and has a deadly cruising speed which will hopefully suit him down at Goodwood on Friday.

“He has been in the mix with these before and has run well. I think this track will suit him better than Ascot which is stiffer. He will be ridden prominently and we are hopeful.”

Less confident is trainer Jonathan Portman who cautioned that Goodwood would not be the favourite track for Rumstar, winner of the Group Three Coral Charge at Sandown last time out.

“We have always skipped this race in the past because a sharp five at Goodwood is less ideal than some of the other targets we have for him. It is not ideal, he would rather go six at somewhere like this,” he said.

“But it fits into his programme to run in the race and if we can pick up some prize-money that would be great. We are very happy with the horse though.

“He has won a nursery at Goodwood and he won the Stewards’ Cup (in 2023) but he didn’t have a jockey on him (he unseated his rider as the stalls opened) so we have mixed memories. I would say we are slightly apprehensive that it is not as ideal as some of his other targets.”

Jim Goldie’s American Affair, winner of the King Charles III Stakes in 2025, Spicy Marg, back at the scene of her Alice Keppel Stakes win last summer, and fellow Group One winners Asfoora and Time For Sandals add heft to a strong field.