Jungle Johnny Climbs Country Classic Mountain
THE Mark Gatt-trained Jungle Johnny extended his winning streak to seven with victory in the Country Classic at Dubbo on Saturday night.
THE Mark Gatt-trained Jungle Johnny extended his winning streak to seven with a slashing victory in the Ladbrokes Country Classic (605m) at Dubbo on Saturday night.
Overcoming box six, the son of rising sire sensation Jungle Deuce gained the lead heading out of the home straight the first time before staving off a late challenge from Late Night News to claim the $100,000 winner's purse.
Jungle Johnny went into the middle distance series as the favourite following a stretch of devastating form which included a remarkable 29.16 victory at Wentworth Park.
Favourite for the Country Classic Final was the Jodie Lord-trained Ayden's Warrior which qualified fastest for the race and drew box one.
But a tardy beginning always had him on the backfoot, while a relatively clean get away had Jungle Johnny in a stalking position from early in proceedings.
The winning time was 34.46 with half-a-length separating Jungle Johnny and Late Night News on the line.
Grand campaigner Kangaroo Jack ran his usual honest race to finish third a further 8 3/4 lengths away.
The win took Jungle Johnny's record to 11 wins from 18 starts for trainer Mark Gatt and owner John Maroun who handled the star chaser in the final.
His last defeat was in mid-January when finishing a luckless second in the Group 1 National Derby (520m) at Wentworth Park.
Johnny Maroun and his mum Dawn have spent almost 30 years waiting for the Country Classic moment their star Jungle Johnny provided.
And, when offers to buy their star galloper kept increasing it was time for Johnny and Dawn to sit down and have a long talk about just what they should do.
"In the end we decided let's just ride it out," said Johnny.
"Let's let him make his memories."
He admitted he made a bold decision to transfer his dog to Mark Gatt for the rest of his career after such impressive early performances under Johnny's care.
"I said, I don't know if I can take this dog to where he needs to go," he said.
"Not a lot of trainers would do that. Mark and Daniel (Gatt) have done a brilliant job."
Johnny was ecstatic.
"This is what dreams are made of," he said.
"He's a once in a lifetime dog."
The Classic win was Johnny's first feature race victory.
"I've come close in a couple of Group 3 maidens," he said of previous endeavours.
"He's done it for us."
Latest News Articles
Greyhound Search
Trainer Search
Top Bookmakers