Deluge to give Jungle the edge

MICK Bell joked he may have overdone his rain dance for his gun wet tracker Jungle Edge, who runs at Sandown Hillside tomorrow in the Le Pine Funerals Handicap (1000m), after seeing the weekend weather forecast.

“I’ve got the wet track I wanted but my biggest worry now is whether the meeting will go ahead,” Bell said.

When Jungle Edge won the Group 3 Kevin Heffernan Stakes at Sandown Hillside, Bell suggested his tough sprinter would go for a short spell but with the forecast rain he changed his mind.

Bell said on the way home after last Saturday’s Woolamai picnic meeting where he had four unplaced runners, it poured rain.

This prompted him to check the eight day weather forecast and with heavy rain predicted for this weekend he decided to give Jungle Edge one more run.

“It’s scary, but he’s going better than ever. I don’t think he’s looked better.

“The race isn’t a gimme by any means. We’re against our old sparring partner Gun Case, but if it’s a Heavy 8, 9 or 10 there aren’t too many who can beaten him in those conditions. It’s still a horse race though, but he’s going be hard to beat.”

Bell has traversed the Eastern seaboard with Jungle Edge in 2017 in search of wet tracks as his 14 starts comprise six in Sydney, three in Brisbane and five in Victoria.