Jehangeer Continues Family Success
When you are a full brother to a multiple Group 1 winner there are some big shoes to fill and emulate. Hello Youmzain proved to be one of the best sprinters of his generation for owner/breeder Mr Jaber Abdullah and the team at Hambleton Lodge. this year saw his full brother arrive and he managed to get off the mark at the second attempt when winning the 6f EBF Maiden Stakes at Ayr.
Spasha has proved a wonderful dam, producing 5 pattern performers. Two of those progeny were trained at Hambleton Lodge so when Jehangeer arrived there was plenty of excitement around the colt. Although he was a slightly smaller model when he first came, Jehangeer developed and strengthened through his work, whilst also showing he had an engine.
He made his debut at Ayr and ran a big race, pressing the leader throughout before just finding one too good on the day and showing signs of inexperience. The winner that day had come from the breeze ups and when he then went on to finish second in the Coventry at Royal Ascot, it really upgraded the run of Jehangeer.
It was no surprise that when Jehangeer lined up for his second run, he would be sent off as a very short favourite. Tom Eaves was booked for the ride and looked to be positive from the off as Jehangeer jumped well. Utilising his stride, the colt moved through to press the leader, similar tactics to his debut run.
The race would pretty much tell the same story throughout and nothing would be able to get into it. The leading pair were the front two in the market and they would have the race between them from very early on. Sat in the first two spots, it was Jehangeer who settled into the slipstream of his rival in second place. It was a decent gallop set as they raced down the centre of the track.
Very little would happen in the race to scare the punters with the market rivals having control from a long way out. Jehangeer powered through the race and cruised into contention, utilising his stride and seemingly a cut above. With nothing else getting into the contest, Tom waited, continuing to get a lead moving into the final 2f. It seemed as though it was just a matter of when and how far.
Looking like the winning margin was the only question, Jehangeer moved up to challenge still hard on the bridle. When Tom gave him a squeeze, the colt went to quicken up but it wasn’t the immediate reaction that he expected. Jehangeer begun to hang right towards his rival and wasn’t really pulling away. He took the lead but wasn’t running in a true line. Tom knew his mount needed educating and was working hard to keep the colt balanced and moving forward. It was all done with his hands but inexperience was really showing. With his rival proving to be a worthy adversary, whilst also holding a true line, Jehangeer was in for a fight. Despite his greeness, the colt had the ability and was always doing enough to keep his lead. Jehangeer galloped all the way to line to secure his first win by a neck.
Jehangeer has already shown he is a colt full of promise but is certainly a work in progress. He moves great and does have a similar style of running as his brother, powerful and eats up the ground. Mentally he is going to improve a lot with time and racing. Jehangeer looks like a very nice prospect but he may not be thrown in at the deep end at this stage. He is a fine colt and will be a lovely horse this year but could well be better as a 3yo.