Trish Dunell
It has been a whirlwind few months for talented stayer Prince Jabeel.
The Brendan and Jo Lindsay-owned gelding has gone from winning his maiden at Taupo in September to winning the Gr.3 City of Auckland Cup (2400m) at Ellerslie on New Year’s Day and placing in the Gr.3 Wellington Cup (3200m) at Trentham earlier this month.
Trainer Lance Noble has been pleased with the Savabeel gelding’s improvement and believes Prince Jabeel’s win at Taupo flicked a switch in the five-year-old’s mind.
“He ran terrific (at Trentham), I’m really proud of him,” Noble said. “He was carrying 59 kilos and the first six horses home were all carrying 53kg except for him, so it was a terrific run.
“He was just a very immature horse early on and he’s a big horse and we ran him on a few wet tracks, but he’s a genuine firm track horse now.
“It was almost like the penny dropped when he won at Taupo and learnt how to win. He’s got competitive, is very genuine and tries really hard.”
Noble has put Prince Jabeel out for a freshen-up before he makes a likely return to contest the Gr.1 Barfoot and Thompson Auckland Cup (3200m) at Ellerslie on March 9.
“We have just put him in the paddock,” he said.
“He has been eating up since he’s been home. We’ll just see, but he has run well at Ellerslie so we’ll head towards the Auckland Cup all going well.”