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The past history of the Longines Hong Kong Sprint does not make pretty reading for potential European challengers.
Since this great dash was instituted in 1999 plenty of champion speedsters have headed eastwards in search of this huge and prestigious accolade but none have succeeded, not yet anyway.
That drought will not last for ever, surely, and Jwala, a half-sister to the G1 1200m winner Airwave, is a fascinating European challenger for the 2013 version of The Turf World Championships’ sprinting prize at Sha Tin.
This four-year-old bay filly is trained by Robert Cowell in peaceful countryside just outside Newmarket and the stable’s website provides a pretty big clue as to exactly how this smallish operation (35-40 horses) has built a substantial reputation in the UK and beyond. ‘Sprint to Success,’ it says.
After a cracking year in 2012 the stable’s team that was let loose on the big speed prizes this year was an impressive one, and, though not many race fans would have bet on it at the time, it was the quietly progressive Jwala who would become the Cowell sprint star of 2013 with an ambitious Hong Kong destination now on the menu.
“Jwala’s preparation for Hong Kong has gone well. She’s in good form and ready to go,” says Cowell of this filly, who hit the headlines when showing sparkling acceleration to beat 16-rivals in what is undoubtedly one of Europe’s leading sprints – the G1 Nunthorpe Stakes (1000m) at York in August.
She had gone into that event an unloved 40-1 shot with even her own stable companion Spirit Quartz much more fancied. There was only one winner in the closing stages, however, as Jwala powered clear of heavily-backed favourite Shea Shea who, a few months earlier, had eclipsed Hong Kong’s Joy And Fun and Eagle Regiment into second and third in the G1 Al Quoz Sprint (1000m) on Dubai World Cup night at Meydan.
The fact that a close third at York was Shea Shea’s old rival, the dual G1 winner Sole Power, suggested the victory was no piece of luck, and with neither the trainer of the second or the third offering excuses, one can easily respect this post-race observation from the winning trainer: “I promise you this was no fluke,” said Cowell as he reminded the media that Jwala had whacked her head on the gates prior to a dismal performance at Goodwood previously.
Jwala completed her 2013 campaign when fourth in another of Europe’s great sprints, October’s G1 Prix de L’Abbaye at Longchamp - a race run at a brutal pace despite the soft ground.
“She was half a length in front at the furlong pole but the ground just caught her out. The first, second and third were all soft ground specialists and she’s not so we were delighted,” says Cowell. Delighted and also, one suspects, reflecting ruefully on what Parisian glory might have come in their direction on a quicker surface.
As far as Hong Kong is concerned wishful thinking will dictate that supporters of Jwala would have preferred that the distance of this sprint championship had not been raised to 1200m back in 2006, all her five wins having come during her 12 starts over 1000m.
“The step up to six furlongs is an obvious concern and we aren’t particularly confident that she will get it, but she has a relaxed style of racing and will give herself every chance,” says the trainer whose observations finish on an optimistic note: “Going round a bend won’t be a problem.”
One of the many wonderful stories surrounding this year’s Longines Hong Kong spectacular regards Jwala’s rider Steve Drowne who was catapulted back into the headlines after partnering her to that York victory. Drowne had fainted one day in 2012, and though it didn’t appear to be a big issue at the time, it resulted in him enduring a year off the track and even losing his driving licence.
At one point his career had looked over but this experienced veteran - who had partnered about 400 winners in his previous five seasons and has won no less than eleven races at Britain’s massively prestigious Royal Ascot meeting - has clawed his way back. Jwala has already made a big contribution, but she would take this popular rider to the top of the world if this uncomplicated filly with a high cruising speed and huge acceleration could finally strike sprinting gold for Europe at Sha Tin.
