Telemon teamed up with Darley Australia to move Sidestep to Queensland last year, and his first crop of two-year-olds this season has featured Godolphin’s G1 Golden Slipper winner Kiamichi.
Now Telemon, Darley and Godolphin are combining again – this time with the dual-hemisphere Group 1 winner Jungle Cat (Ire) (Iffraaj {GB}). He will stand for an introductory fee of $12,000 (plus GST).
Jungle Cat
“Darley and Telemon already have a young but successful relationship with Golden Slipper-winning sire Sidestep,” said Alastair Pulford, Head of Sales at Darley.
“We are delighted to be giving Queensland breeders access to another top stallion prospect in Jungle Cat. His Australian form is easy to relate to and he represents a great sire line. We are very confident the Queensland breeders will have great success with him.”
“We are delighted to be giving Queensland breeders access to another top stallion prospect in Jungle Cat." Alastair Pulford, Darley Head of Sales
Telemon owner Dan Fletcher jumped at the chance to stand the Irish-bred stallion, whose eight wins included the G1 Al Quoz Sprint at Meydan and the Sir Rupert Clarke S. under top weight at Caulfield.
“We are delighted and humbled to be entrusted with such a high-calibre young stallion,” Telemon owner Dan Fletcher said.
“He is a genuinely elite, multiple Group 1-winning sprinter with a pedigree which is particularly enticing given the prevailing genetics of our mare population.”
Jungle Cat following his win in the G1 Sir Rupert Clarke S.
Jungle Cat’s sire Iffraaj has been represented by more than 60 stakes winners worldwide, headed by Group 1 winners Ribchester (Ire), Rizeena (Ire), Chriselliam (Ire), Benvenue (Ire) and Wootton Bassett (GB) in the northern hemisphere, the latter being the sire of the multiple Group 1 winner Almanzor (Fr).
From his southern hemisphere shuttles to Haunui Farm in New Zealand, Iffraaj has produced the likes of Gingernuts (NZ), Jon Snow (NZ) and Turn Me Loose (NZ).
The maternal side of Jungle Cat’s pedigree is all-American, with his dam Mike’s Wildcat (USA) being a stakes-winning daughter of Forest Wildcat (USA).
Jungle Cat was trained by Charlie Appleby to win eight of his 33 starts, placing in another 13 for more than $2.3 million in prize-money.
“He’s a model of consistency at the top level and a straightforward horse to train, good minded and very sound,” Appleby said.
Telemon’s general manager Joe Heather said Jungle Cat had been on their radar for some time.
"To be a Group 1 winner on Australian soil is a huge positive.” - Telemon General Manager, Joe Heather
“We have been monitoring Jungle Cat as a potential stallion since his win in G1 Al Quoz Sprint. It’s a race that we know through the exploits of Buffering.
“Jungle Cat’s win there generated a rating that stood alongside the absolute elite Australian sprinters, so it should have come as no surprise that the horse he defeated, Stormy Liberal, returned to America and duly won the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint.
“Jungle Cat’s next start was in Australia where he gave them all weight and a beating in the G1 Sir Rupert Clarke S. at Caulfield.
“To get the attention of our breeders, it was so important he came here and not only showed his quality, but the fact he is made for our conditions. To be a Group 1 winner on Australian soil is a huge positive.”
Watch: Jungle Cat winning the G1 Sir Rupert Clarke S.
In what proved to be his final start, Jungle Cat finished third behind Santa Ana Lane (Lope de Vega) and In Her Time (Time Thief) in last November’s G1 VRC Sprint Classic at Flemington.
“That run was the clincher for us,” said Heather. “Horsemen know how hard it is to travel, so for him to put up a performance like that on foreign shores and coming back in trip is a true testament to his quality. He’s top class and it’s a privilege for us to stand him.”
Jungle Cat will stand at Telemon alongside the previously mentioned Sidestep, whose Golden Slipper win has seen his fee rise from $7,700 to $22,000 inc GST.
