Jungle Rocket Success for NZB Weanling Sale

New Zealand Bloodstock National Weanling Sale graduate Jungle Rocket burst through to capture the Group 1 New Zealand Bloodstock Insurance New Zealand Oaks (2400m) at Trentham on Saturday, just six weeks after breaking maiden status at her first start.

Trained in Cambridge by Jeff McVean, Jungle Rocket (Jungle Pocket - Gu Li, by Last Tycoon) has shown nothing but class to date in winning twice and placing second twice in four starts, with Saturdays' Group 1 victory over New Zealand's finest three-year-old fillies proving testament to this.

Top apprentice James McDonald had the filly travelling well throughout, before breaking through a needle eye gap to claim victory, a half-length from fellow Karaka graduate Can't Keeper Down (Keeper - Ashley Downs, by Grosvenor).

Jungle Rocket is raced by David Pleasance in partnership with his wife, Cynthia, and her daughter and son-in-law, Louise and Craig Betts, all of whom are based in NSW, Australia.

New Zealand Bloodstock's International Bloodstock Manager, John Cameron, was approached by the family to find them a horse at the 2006 New Zealand Bloodstock National Weanling Sale.

Cameron recalls, "The family was very excited about getting a horse as it was their first venture into racehorse ownership."

"We had a limited budget to work with but I recommended they buy a nice filly I had seen in the Haunui draft."

"She had a lot of presence about her, a great walk, and plenty of quality that reminded me of the types that her broodmare sire, Last Tycoon, had left."

The advice was followed with Louise Betts signing for the $21,500 purchase, and on further advice from Cameron, she was sent to the McVean stable.

The filly, although from a winning Australian family, is the first Group 1 winner in her pedigree for six generations, and provides former Rich Hill Stud shuttle stallion Jungle Pocket with his first southern hemisphere Group 1 winner.

Japanese Horse of the Year, Jungle Pocket is by the successful Japanese sire Tony Bin, a member of the Grey Sovereign sireline, who is well renowned for leaving outstanding staying fillies in his native country. Amongst Tony Bin's nine Group 1 winners are Group 1 Japanese Oaks winners Vega, Air Groove, and Lady Pastel, the first two being out of Northern Dancer line mares, as is Group 1 NZ Oaks winner Jungle Rocket through Try My Best's (Northern Dancer) son Last Tycoon.

The sponsorship of the Group 1 NZ Oaks by New Zealand Bloodstock Insurance, and the ten-race NZB Filly of the Year Series by New Zealand Bloodstock, gives a glimpse of the support New Zealand Bloodstock provides the thoroughbred industry, and shows the long term commitment the company has in developing New Zealand's race fillies into long term broodmare prospects.

Past winners of both events still contribute to the development of the Australasian thoroughbred to this very day, and Jungle Rocket will prove no different. The filly will now target Brisbane, and in particular the Group 1 Queensland Oaks run on 30 May, a race won by outstanding New Zealand fillies like Eskimo Queen, Vouvray, Ethereal and Giovana  in the new millennium, with the latter two having both left sale topping yearlings at Karaka in the same period.