ZELZAL X ALLEGRA ITALICA

We have a limited amount of shares available in bang in form 3yo filly, Tiempo Alegre trained by the impressive Jack Jones.

Her last four starts since switched to the tapeta surface have yielded form figures of 3134 which has also secured her 13 points in the ARC AW Championship.

Last years championship saw the 20th placed horse pick up 33 points in the qualifying period, with the 12th placed horse picking up 38 points along the way. The 2025 bonus dividends will see 12th pick up £25,000 and 20th place pick up £10,000, a target both NBR and Jack Jones believe is well within our sights.

->She has nine runs left, with three runs per period qualifying for points and just twenty points from these nine runs should be enough to see her involved in the horse of the year award. Points are issued from 5-1 depending on your finishing position in each race. In theory, a mixture of 3rd and 4th placed finishes would be enough to pick up a share of the bonus.<-

In truth, Jack has always been fond of this filly, she was always a little behind in her education because of her poor preparation prior to the yearling sales. She cost €23,000 as a yearling and has incurred over twelve months of costs to this point, so our valuation of £15,000 looks more than fair given we expect her to be very competitive in the next few months. In truth, she has always worked well, albeit she was never the most straight forward which was evident in her early runs in our silks.

->She has however matured well, mentally she has come on leaps and bounds and Hector Crouch, her pilot for the last three starts singing her praises.<-

All of her family have wanted ten furlongs and its difficult to rule out further improvement from this filly as she strengthens and gives herself an opportunity to stay further.

She has been the paddock stand out on her last three starts, with her first victory coming at Southwell at the start off the month, when she needed every yard of the seven furlongs trip to get up close home.

Her two starts since have been in the higher grade and she's been an eyecatcher throughout her race, travelling like a horse above that grade but ultimately she had far too much to do from a disadvantaged track position.

On the 20th December, on her first start over a mile, she finished best of the horses held up, finishing third, with the two horses in front having first run on her. The finishing percentage of 106% would also back up our opinion.

She would then step up to eight and a half furlongs on Monday evening, reversing the form with the two who finished in front of her at Southwell. Crucially, she again finished the best of the horses who were held up, this time flying late despite the slow sectionals set by the first three home. The finishing percentage was 109% on this occasion, and you can upgrade her finishing position without any doubt.

Whilst we know she is well handicapped, the major positive has been the fact that she has settled well in her races on her last two starts despite the slow pace and she should be plenty of fun in the coming months.

She WILL pick up prize money immediately and has a very good chance of featuring on the horse of the year leader board which would be a significant bonus, potentially wiping out your upfront cost.

Jacks first horse was Wooders Dream previously owned by NBR and who I had named. Jack purchased her from a Tatts Online Sale and was putting together a small syndicate and I was intrigued to see who ‘Jack Jones Racing’ was. I contacted Jack about Wooders and asked could I join the syndicate given my connection with her. We discussed the filly, and he laid out his plans for her going forward plus letting me know his background and how he had obtained stables within the Rae Guest yard previously occupied by Micky Quinn. He was a young guy just starting out after gaining vast experience with various National Hunt and Flat trainers both at home and abroad.

We visited the yard on several occasions when in Newmarket to see Wooders and was warmly welcomed by Jack, Polly (Jacks girlfriend, sister of Jonny Peate) and other staff along with meeting Jacks parents who also have a background in racing. We watched Wooders on a few occasions and met Jack on course and I felt the way he came across was excellent and I could relate to him somewhat given our relative young ages. Wooders hit the bar on a few occasions but didn’t manage to win for us prior to the syndicate moving her on.

Jack also got Navy Drums around the same time who gave him his first winner, another relative cheap purchase out of the Robert Cowell yard who hadn’t previously won. Jack turned him around and he came 5th, 2nd, 1st, and 1st in his first four runs.

1. Why did you choose Jack Jones for your own horse?

I was on holiday during the 2022 Tatts Book 3 & 4 yearling sales and keeping an eye on things to see what had been bought and by who like I normally do!

I had always wanted to have my own horse and at this stage in my life, various things allowed me to do it for the first time. I felt that from what I had seen of Jack over the previous months and the connection we had made, he would be the right person to have my first horse with. Given the yard was small and just starting out, I would be getting almost a one-to-one service as opposed to bigger yards where I and my horse could be lost somewhat.

On my return from holiday, I messaged Jack about a couple of relative cheap unsold fillies which fitted by proposed budget and how I would like him to possibly train one of them for me. Jack said he would investigate both through his connections and ultimately advised me against them for various reasons. He then suggested having a look at the Doncaster October Yearling sale where there could be value to be had given the small number of horses and lack of buyers.

We both made lists with the aim of purchasing a GBB filly for between 5-10k. We reduced the list and, in the end, purchased Fengari (by Territories) privately a few days after the sale from Hunscot Stud. Her half-sister had won as a two-year-old and she had a decent page. Jack watched videos of her and thought she had a fair confirmation but wasn’t the biggest but for the £4500 we paid; it was not going to be a massive risk. She stayed with Jamie Lloyd to be broken in and Jack updated me via WhatsApp videos on her progress till she went into full training with him.

During the 2023 season, Jacks three two-year-olds all won (Fengari first time out) with Up The Manor being his standout yearling, bought from the Doncaster Breeze-ups, he also won first time out back at Doncaster then took Jack and his owners to Royal Ascot where he came 4th in the Windsor Castle.

2. What can our owners expect if they have a horse with Jack?

Set-up wise, Jack isn’t an Olly Sangster just yet numbers wise but undoubtably possesses the same passion and drive to succeed with a smaller, compact set-up which can only benefit the horses in his care and their owners. Jack is very approachable, welcoming, and actively encourages owner’s to visit their horses. He’s well positioned on the Hamilton Road, backing onto the Rowley Mile course with several nearby differing gallops plus Warren Hill over the other side of town.

Jack as had outstanding strike rate of runners to winners in just his first full year of training.

Jockey wise, Jack has formed a great partnership with Dylan Hogan who rides most of his horses. Jack won’t hesitate to tweak things to suit horses and races to maximise their chances of winning, not afraid also of making changes if something didn’t work out previously where some trainers will just carry on doing the same thing.

3. Can you go more into Jack's approach and the level of updates and comms from the yard?

Jack has a very methodical approach to training, both pre racing and once he has the horse is in full work. He’s calm and manages the stable routine in a set way that he feels will benefit his horses. This also carries through to his race day planning, having the horses at the course in plenty of time to let them relax and unwind.

I am personally in regular contact with Jack via WhatsApp with regards to both horses I have with him currently. Star Mind will tend to do fast work on the Cambridge Road gallop on a Saturday to suit her routine and race planning. If I’m not in attendance, Jack will send over her work video plus a voice message outlining how she has done, good or bad and what he’s thinking of doing next. We speak at least once a week about plans, races and what’s best for the fillies, whether its Jack ringing me, or I ring him. Fengari benefitted from using the less well-known gallops available to Jack when he was building-up her stamina in a relaxed environment compared to busier areas of Newmarket.

I also have a yearling which Jacks friend Sam Carrington (Carrington Bloodstock) broke in and Jack sent me regular update videos received from Sam. She has been at Jacks now since start of this year with video and voice updates received on her initial progress.

Jack is very good at planning races for each horse and potential targets in the long run. I get involved as well then, we both agree a strategy and go from there.

4. Where do you see Jack been in three years’ time?

I imagine Jack would like to be in his own yard in the next year or so to really push on and potentially emulate George Boughey’s success. In a recent stat, Jack came out on top against George at the same early part of their careers. I know from speaking with Jack, he had written to a lot of owners and syndicates when he first started to get his name out there and get potential owners involved with Nick being one of them so it’s great that its now happened with the Zelzal filly. I can guarantee Jack will put everything he has into the filly to make her a winner for Nicks owners.

On a personal note, I’ve been with Jack from the outset and seen how he’s personally progressed along with his team and string size and wish him the very best going forward. I hope and think he will stay very grounded should he achieve future success with a single or multiple horses.