JETTY'S IMPRESSIVE COME FROM BEHIND VICTORY

By Graham Potter | Saturday, March 4, 2023

The Chris Munce trained Jetty landed a strong first-up win under the guidance of jockey Mark Du Plessis when claiming his seventh career victory in an Open Handicap over 1200m at Eagle Farm on March 4.

The five-year-old son of Jet Spur was resuming after a just short of a five month layoff and, although he still started at double figure odds, he was not without support firming in from $17 to $11, possibly due to the fact that he had won twice before when first-up.

There appeared to be a bit of quality opposition lining up against Jetty ... most notable the two runners at the top of the betting boards Hilal ($2.70) and The Big Goodbye ($3.80).

The former, a winner of the Group 2 Stan Fox, had relocated to the Tony Gollan stable from Team Hawkes after ordinary efforts in two Group 1’s (the Rupert Clarke and the Toorak) and in the Golden Eagle ... but his overall level of performance when at his best still suggested he could come back strong here, in what was also his first-up run after four months away from race action.

For his part, The Big Goodbye came into this race having won two of his last three starts ... credentials enough to explain his favoured positioning in the betting.
Du Plessis was patient at the break, happy to take Jetty back to race in the second half of the field in the early stages.

That left Jetty some six lengths off the pace being set The Big Goodbye and Greyworm ($21), who had joined issue at the head of affairs, as the field went down the back straight.

The two leaders were still going at it on straightening with Du Plessis bringing Jetty six wide into the home stretch, still with those six lengths to make up.

That meant Jetty had plenty of work to do in the run to the line, but he did knuckle down to his task, making up ground gradually at first as he started to go through his gears ... and then rapidly from just inside the 200m as Du Plessis ultimately produced an inch perfect ride which took Jetty past a wall of horses, who had been fighting for supremacy along his inside, and on to a well-earned 0.35 length victory from The Big Goodbye.

The other main fancy Hilal never fired a shot.

It was a scintillating come from behind victory in a rousing finish which saw just over half-a-length cover the first four horses across the line.

It was only the second time that Du Plessis had partnered Jetty and they remain unbeaten as a combination with two wins from those two starts.

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