3 minute read
Callum Shepherd will be hoping his love affair with George Scott's Isle Of Jura can continue as the pair take on ten rivals in the Listed His Majesty King Hamad Bin Isa Al Khalifa Cup at Sakhir racecourse in Bahrain.
George Scott acquired the son of New Approach for £150,000 from the Tattersalls Ascot March Sale last year, a purchase that has proved fruitful with Isle Of Jura racking up five wins from nine starts for new connections.
Although beaten in novice company on his first two outings for the George Scott team, Isle Of Jura quickly proved he knew where the winning line was when successful in handicaps at Newbury and Newmarket. And while a lesser effort at Haydock would follow, Shepherd, who has partnered Isle Of Jura in eight of the gelding's ten starts, was confident he hadn't reached his ceiling.
"He's a well-bred horse who was a rare offering to the sales ring and although he took a little bit of time to come to hand, by the time he stepped into handicaps he really started to show signs that he was a very capable horse," Shepherd told Racing and Sports UK.
He added: "He won two low-grade races very well and then ran flat at Haydock before being put away. I was pretty confident it wasn't the case he had become exposed and almost certain he had more to offer. Great credit to George, who gave him the time off at that point before bringing him back to go to Bahrain."
Whilst his progression has come as a surprise to many, Shepherd was confident of a bold showing from Isle Of Jura on his first start in Bahrain and proved correct as the New Approach gelding stretched clear to make a successful debut in the Middle East.
"He was working very well over there and we expected him to run huge on his first start and he duly obliged," said Shepherd.
Whilst Isle Of Jura suffered defeat on his next outing, he soon bounced back to regain the winning thread in the valuable Crown Prince's Cup before following up in a Local Grade 1 impressively a fortnight later.
"He won really well and was just undone by the circumstances on his next start as I was drawn in the car park and to be fair to the horse, he was only beaten on a nod of the heads."
"He went on to win the Crown Prince's Cup, which was definitely his toughest race to date, before going up a furlong and winning the race named in Sheikh Nasser's honour."
Back-to-back victories in February would set up a tilt at the Bahrain "Triple Crown," where a further furlong step up in trip awaits Isle Of Jura, as George Scott's prolific gelding tackles a mile and a half for the first time at Sakhir on Friday. However, Shepherd believes there could be even more to come from his mount over the mile-and-a-half distance, having shown tendencies to finish off his races strongly in the closing stages.
"The races out there are often run at a proper gallop, and he's always been the strongest at the line, so a mile and a half doesn't hold any concern for me whatsoever."
"He's mentally grown up a lot out there and he's become a much more relaxed horse. Once he's out on the track he's an absolute diamond now and extremely easy to ride in a race."
Isle Of Jura will face a different calibre of opposition on his new home turf on Friday, with Godolphin responsible for three of the eleven-strong field heading the post. William Buick has elected to ride Dhahabi on the back of his respectable fourth in the Al Khail Trophy last time, while Charlie Appleby's other runner, King Of Conquest will be partnered by Saffie Osborne.
The Saeed bin Suroor-trained Passion And Glory rounds out the Godolphin trio and whilst Shepherd is aware of the new dangers that await his mount, he stands by the fact he believes Isle Of Jura remains "the one to beat."
"He's definitely one of the most exciting horses I've ridden," Shepherd said. "It's again his toughest assignment to date and the Godolphin horses will mean business but he's not let us down yet and I'm very hopeful he can get the job done once more. Our horse is the one to beat."
