Rumble Inthejungle aiming to floor Commonwealth Cup rivals

Richard Spencer says the lack of a previous run this season will not be a negative for Rumble Inthejungle in the fifth running of the £500,000 Commonwealth Cup (3.40) at Royal Ascot on Friday, a race that forms part of the Sprint category of the QIPCO British Champions Series.

The three-year-old colt, a son of the speedy Bungle Inthejungle, finished fourth in the Norfolk Stakes at the Royal meeting last year before going on to win the Markel Insurance Molecomb Stakes at Goodwood and finish third behind Ten Sovereigns and Jash, who he meets again, in the Juddmonte Middle Park Stakes at Newmarket.

He has not raced since that Group 1 contest but he had a recent racecourse workout at Newmarket and Spencer, seeking a second Royal Ascot winner after the success of Rajasinghe in the 2017 Coventry Stakes, is delighted with his wellbeing.

The trainer said: “He’s in good order. We galloped him at the July Racecourse recently and Michael Hills rode him. It was just to get him on the lorry and take him somewhere different. He has definitely tightened up for it and he’s exactly where we want him to be. I couldn’t be happier with him, so roll on Friday.”

Explaining his absence this year, he added: “He was slow to come to come to hand and we didn’t want to rush him. He’s a very good horse and there’s no point running them when they are not 110 per cent right. He’s come good in the last three weeks. We’ve been patient and I think it’s probably the best thing we could have done.

“He only had one blip last year, at Doncaster when the ground was on the slow side. His form last year was very good and up there with the best. His last run was probably his best, even though he’d had a long year and plenty of racing by then. Physically he’s done well over the winter and the team at home have done a great job. He looks fantastic and we are excited. Hopefully he runs well and does us proud.

“The Commonwealth Cup is a fantastic race and a fantastic opportunity for the three-year-olds. It’s great that the race is now there for them because there are so many horses that are prepped for the Guineas and then they have to come back in trip because they haven’t stayed and in the past there was not a lot for them.”

Ten Sovereigns heads the betting and represents Aidan O’Brien, who landed the Commonwealth Cup with Caravaggio in 2017. Ten Sovereigns lost his unbeaten record when fifth in the QIPCO 2000 Guineas at Newmarket last month, a race in which Advertise, whose exploits last year included a defeat of So Perfect in the Group 1 Keeneland Phoenix Stakes at the Curragh, was well-fancied but trailed home fifteenth of the 19 runners.

“We have to put a line through that run as it was obviously not him,” Martyn Meade, his trainer, said. “He should have finished much closer. It was not a disaster but I was expecting much better than that.

“One can only put it down to the fact that he was a little bit below-par. It must have been one of those untraceable viruses because everything else was right with him. We scoped him immediately after the race and his blood was perfect.

“It’s why we had a month off and hopefully he will now reproduce what he is capable of. His form ties in with all the top two-year-old performers – he’s just got to reproduce it. Based on his homework and everything, we think he will be quick enough dropping back in distance.”

The silks of Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum have already been carried to two Commonwealth Cup victories, via Muhaarar (2015) and Eqtidaar (2018), and he has two strong candidates in Jash and Khaadem. The former won on his reappearance in a Listed race at Newmarket, while the latter won on his return at Newbury, with Konchek well adrift.

Hello Youmzain lines up after beating Calyx and Royal Intervention in the Group 2 Armstrong Aggregates Sandy Lane Stakes at Haydock.Forever In Dreams, another winner at Haydock last time, and Royal Intervention complete the nine-runner line-up.