NEIGH TO BLINKERS AFTER SHOCK FLOP

After Jungle Prince was well beaten and doing lots wrong when sent out $1.80 favourite last time, father and daughter training team Tony and Maddy Sears have conjured a key gear change with their talented threeyear-old.

After bolting in on debut at the Doomben midweeks, Jungle Prince was sent out short odds to remain unbeaten when stepping up to Saturday grade at Eagle Farm on February 24.

But with blinkers on, he over-raced and got no cover and finished unplaced, beaten more than three lengths by stablemate Sharp Dazzler ($10).

Jungle Prince’s jockey Ryan Maloney immediately told the training team that blinkers should be removed from the gelding.

The proof will be in the pudding when he steps out at short odds again ($1.90) in the 3YO Handicap over 1835m at Eagle Farm on Saturday.

“As soon as Ryan Maloney came back last time, he said get the blinkers straight off him,” Maddy Sears said.

“At just his second start in a race, this horse didn’t know what was going on and just got way too fierce and overdid it in the early and middle part of the race.

“But without blinkers, his work leading into Saturday’s race has been tremendous and we believe he has come ahead in leaps and bounds.

“He has been working really well with quite a smart open company horse that we have got.

“This week we have been trying to teach him to sit off a couple of horses in his work and teach him to sit back and settle behind him. We just want to ride him with a bit of cover on Saturday.”

While Jungle Prince and Sharp Dazzler clashed in the same race last time, on Saturday they will be competing in different races.

Sharp Dazzler, who is in the same ownership and wears the same colours as his stablemate, will contest the 3YO Handicap (1400m) as $3.50 favourite.