Jungle The Star Of Jack's Treble

By Jeff Collerson
Jungle Deuce, the hottest young prospect in training, was again the star of the show as his trainer Jack Smith landed a winning treble at Wentworth Park on Saturday night.

The FORBES trainer took out the opening event with Irinka Molly in a fast 29.72, snared the quinella in race six when Dip It In defeated Irinka Riley in 30.13 and saved the best for last when Jungle Deuce rocketed over the 520m in a best of the night 29.49.

Jungle Deuce had clocked a sensational 29.31 at his previous Wentworth Park start and might have equalled those figures on Saturday if he had not collided with Ritza Coen, the eventual runner-up, at box rise.


Dip It In may have been lucky to beat his kennelmate as while both greyhounds dwelt at the start, Dip It In secured a dream run along the rails when pacemaker Kent Kilowatt ran very wide on the first bend.

Dip It In hit the front leaving the back straight and stole a winning break when Kent Kilowatt shifted ground again and collided with Irinka Riley, who was in third spot and going fast.

Zipping Stewie again showed a tremendous will-to-win when he surged home near the finish to run down Sizzle Fly in 29.89 in a 520m fifth grade.

The Mark Gatt-trained dog has now won eight from 10 starts and Saturday's win was the dog's fifth in succession.

"He is getting better with every run,'' kennel foreman Daniel Gatt said later.

"When he began his career he was not very strong at the finish and was too excitable.

"He used to get so worked up when we took him to a trial track that I would wait outside the course with him in the car so he couldn't hear the lure whizzing around inside.

"Not only has he calmed down a lot, but he has got stronger at the end of his races.''


Romantic Storm, who was sidelined with a bout of water diabetes after finishing fourth at Wentworth Park two months ago, bounced back in brilliant fashion to lead throughout in 29.83 in a 520m fifth grade on Saturday.

"He had box eight and while he wants an inside draw, I felt that if he jumped cleanly he might get a good run because the dog in box seven, Boomin' Ethics, goes hard left at the start,'' Romantic Storm's trainer George Borg said.

"I trialled Romantic Storm on Tuesday at Appin and he went like a rocket.

"His kennelmate Jackpot Josie trialled smartly just before him and then he went a lot quicker.

"When Jackpot Josie subsequently came out and won over 400m at Richmond in the smart time of 22.49, I thought Romantic Storm would have to be hard to toss.''

Zipping Niseko will tackle the group 3 Wentworth Park Gold Cup heats on May 1 following her smart 42.17 win over the 720m Cup course on Saturday.

Zipping Niseko trailed pacemaker Prim And Proper to just before the home turn and hit the front at the top of the straight to win by a length.

"She has only just worked out what distance racing is about,'' trainer Luke Adams said.

"When she started out over 720m Zipping Niseko tended to go too hard early and was inclined to burn herself out.

"I think Zipping Niseko is better when she gets the sit just behind the pace like she did tonight because then she seems to be able to get to the line more strongly.''

My Margarita won Saturday's other 720m event in a fair 42.64 but her run was outstanding, as she was badly hampered crossing to the rails in the early stages.

After being a distant fourth on the back straight the Allan Manwaring-trained stayer flashed home to win running away.

Trainer Barry Gibbons has earmarked the May 1 heats of the group 3 Ladies Bracelet for Chrissie Banner after his bitch's impressive all-the-way win in 29.81 on Saturday.

Chrissie Banner posted slick splits of 5.42 and 13.87 and Gibbons said later: "She had a seasonal spell and has taken a while to find her best form again.

"I think she has been down on confidence more than anything so going straight to the front and winning tonight will do her the world of good.''