I’m A Jet survived a nasty dog attack earlier this year but he could be the one putting the bite on his rivals when he attempts to maintain his excellent strike rate at Grafton on Tuesday.
Bred and owned by his Coffs Harbour-based trainer Mick O’Neill, I’m A Jet will be chasing his third win from four appearances at Grafton when he lines up in Tuesday’s Patriots Bloodstock Jacca Prelude (1106m), a lead-in to the Clarence River Jockey Club’s Jacaranda Cup (1100m) on November 8. And likely soft conditions on Tuesday won’t hurt his chances either – he has won three of six starts on soft tracks.
I’m A Jet seems to have come back in good order this preparation after having to be sidelined for seven months following his clash with a couple of dogs on a Coffs Harbour beach earlier in the year.
After I’m A Jet returned to win at Ballina two runs back on September 7, O’Neill explained how relieved he was to see the gelding return to winning form.
“A couple of pig dogs got on the loose on the beach and cut him up pretty bad,” he said. “We had to give him a few months off but I think he’s come back pretty good.”
I’m A Jet resumed from his enforced layoff with an unplaced run behind Arise Augustus in The Blinkan Missit over 800m at Coffs Harbour on August 3 then improved second-up when third off a wide gate behind that same horse in the Taree Lightning on August 20.
I'm A Jet returned to the winner's list at his third run back when he took out a Benchmark 70 over 1000m at Ballina on September 7 before his last-start fifth behind White Moss in a Benchmark 77 over 1100m at Canterbury on October 4.
Now a six-year-old, I’m A Jet has been restricted to just 14 starts in his career but has a solid record of five wins and three minor placings.
I'm A Jet kicked off his racing career as a three-year-old in 2014 under the care of Coffs Harbour trainer Brett Bellamy. He was unplaced on debut at Taree and then was off the scene for almost two years.
He finally resumed for Coffs Harbour trainer Peter Roach in mid-2016, winning four of his next five starts.
He looks one of the leading hopes in Tuesday’s race which also features Ballina stablemates Hydrazine and Voltaire Llumiere, in-form Port Macquarie mare Dreamalina and former Victorian galloper Devils Pinch.
Devils Pinch, previously trained in Melbourne by Colin Little, is having his first run for Armidale trainer Paul Grills.
Devils Pinch has some strong Victorian provincial performances to recommend him and has form around the handy sprinters Rock ‘N’ Gold and Stellar Collision.
The five-year-old has only been with Grills a couple of weeks and is coming off a last-start seventh behind Cleopatra’s Glory at Ballarat on October 5.
Gold Coast trainer Toby Edmonds, coming off a pretty memorable few days, will have I Am The Sculptor running in the Jacca Prelude.
Edmonds followed up an Ipswich double last Wednesday with a big win at Saturday's Cox Plate meeting at Moonee Valley with the ultra impressive Eptimum in the $152,000 Red Anchor Stakes, a Doomben win with Fiery Heights, a Gold Coast winner Awake The Stars and another winner at Sunday's Sunshine Coast meeting with She Goes Pop.
View the fields and form for Tuesday's Grafton meeting here.