By Peter Moore at Goodwood Friday 1st August 2025
Improving sprinter JM Jungle recorded his first Group success after a battling performance to take the Group 2 King George Qatar Stakes at Goodwood on Friday.
A handicap winner at this meeting in 2023, the five-year-old landed the Dash at Epsom Downs on Derby day and finished third in a Listed race at York last time out.
The 13 runners split into two groups with Jm Jungle racing prominently in a larger group towards the far rail that included G1 winners Asfoora and Time For Sandals. Jason Hart delivered Jm Jungle to lead narrowly a furlong out, before holding on to win by a neck from She’s Quality.
Sean Quinn said: “American Affair touched Jm Jungle off up at Musselburgh in the Sprint Cup and then at York at the Dante meeting. I was at Royal Ascot when Jim’s [Goldie] horse won and I thought, ‘I’m going to have to have a fiver on this because the way he’s been beating our horse, he has to be a Group One horse’. It is just very good sprint form.
“Without making excuses, I thought Jm Jungle ran very well at York last time in a race that wasn’t very quickly run. Shane Gray gave his horse a lovely ride out in front, he stacked them up, whereas today they’ve gone lickety-split and Jm Jungle loves that.
“It was easier watching Highfield Princess because she never looked like getting beat. I was hoping, willing for the line to come in the last furlong today, but it did and he toughed it out. The second 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. He is probably not as good going up a hill – we ran him at Ascot last year, when he might have been over the top, but he finished fifth. Whether that’s because he was over the top or because it was uphill, I don’t really know, but we don’t have to worry about that too much.
Champion jockey Oisin Murphy rode a treble on the seven-race card after steering Kyle Of Lochalsh, Seagulls Eleven and Fox Legacy to victory.
The opening race of the afternoon was the longest on the card being run over 2m 4f. The Coral Goodwood Handicap went to the Hughie Morrison trained Kyle Of Lochalsh.
The lightly raced horse had been waiting for some cut in the ground. Murphy, always had the five-year-old well positioned. With a furlong and a half to go, Murphy kicked for home with a terrific turn of foot there was only going to be one winner with Kyle Of Lochalsh pulling well clear of his rivals to win going away by nine and a half lengths.
Murphy completed a quick fire double when Seagulls Eleven got the better of his three rivals to stay on well to initiate the first of a Hugo Palmer double.
The other leg of the palmer may have come as a surprise for most people after Ardisia held on to beat Shaman Champion by a neck under David Probert in the 6f Nursery Handicap.
John Smith’s Cup hero Fox Legacy trounced his higher-rated rivals in the Regent Seven Seas Cruises Bentinck Conditions Stakes, to give Murphy a treble on the day.
The son of Lope de Vega streaked clear to beat Jeff Koons by five and a half lengths. Socialite and 2/1 favourite Liberty Lane filled the minor places.
Fox Legacy has proved a revelation this season, with this success his third in four starts since joining Andrew Balding from Sir Michael Stoute.
Ralph Beckett’s Push The Limit defied top weight in the Coral Pipped At The Post Winners Handicap over 11 furlongs.
The 5/2 favourite took command passing the two-furlong pole and galloped home strongly to beat Ammes by a length and a half, with Bullet two lengths further back in third.