JETTY IN A FINELY JUDGED WIN

By Graham Potter | Saturday, October 1, 2022

The five-year-old gelding Jetty made it four wins from twelve starts since transferring to the Chris Munce stable in November 2021 when he landed a BM90 Handicap over 1600m at Eagle Farm on October 1.

The son of Jet Spur had won two-in-a-row when he resumed for the Munce yard in December 2021 (over 1200m and 1400n) and then he claimed another victory on July 21, 2022 in a Class 4 Handicap, again over the 1400m trip.

Two months after that win, Munce elected to step up the distance test for Jetty to 1600m and he booked Mark Du Plessis to ride the horse for the first time … and both decisions arguably played their part in Jetty’s next success.

Du Plessis had to plot and plan his path as Jetty ($5.50) had to jump from the extreme outside barrier in the twelve horse field … and, with the fair sized field and possibly traffic problems in play later, Du Plessis elected to push forward from the wide draw and he found the lead after the field had gone 100m, although he was held out three wide.

Jetty then gradually was able to cross closer towards the inside and he held the lead by a length at a measured gallop as he took the field down the back straight and all the way through the sweep to the home turn.

Du Plessis remained ever so patient on the leader and he only asked Jetty to do more early in the home straight.

And she had to do more … because she would face two real tests down the home straight.

Firstly, there was the strong challenge of the $3.10 favourite Bottega, who chased up hard and fast along Jetty’s inside with Ligulate ($21) in tow, that had to be dealt with.

Jetty was strong in doing that and withstanding all of the pressure that came with that argument but, just as he had got the better of the main fancy, another $5.50 chance jumped out of the ground, finishing at a great rate of knots from behind, threatening to run down the Munce trained runner.

Du Plessis couldn’t have rated Jetty better though and, although he wouldn’t have wanted it any further, Jetty did get home safely, albeit by a fast diminishing 0.20 length margin.