As Mick Bell answers his mobile phone the distinct sound of a race replay blasts from a nearby television and when I bid him good morning he apologises for all the background noise and says he’s having a “reflective Sunday.”
The 58-year-old Cranbourne trainer was still basking in the glory of another win racked up by Jungle Edge (Dubawi) at his 69th start.
“He’s the horse of a lifetime, you can be a small trainer and go 10 lifetimes without getting a horse like this.” - Trainer Mick Bell
On Saturday, the rising 9YO lit up a dull, wintry afternoon at Sandown winning a 1200m open handicap. The joy of that victory pushed Mick to declare in an emotional post-race TV interview that there should be a movie made about the horse.
“He’s the horse of a lifetime, you can be a small trainer and go 10 lifetimes without getting a horse like this.”
“It’s been a real adventure and a real ride and hopefully it’s not over yet. History says it won’t go for too much longer but who knows.”
Trainer Mick Bell after Jungle Edge's win
“I treat him like Gary Ablett Jnr, he’s like an AFL player in his early thirties and sometimes their last couple of seasons can be their best, and, sometimes not. I just have to manage things and the rest is up to the racing gods.”
Lifted spirits
The “racing gods” have certainly been kind to Mick and his horse so far. Jungle Edge has been travelled up and down the eastern seaboard of Australia competing at carnivals in Sydney and Queensland and amassed more than $1.3 million in prizemoney.
In recent years, those racetrack thrills have boosted more than Mick’s bank balance and lifted his spirits during a period of enormous grief after losing his wife of 33 years, Bev, to breast cancer.
“Just when things were really shocking he won a couple of races at Sandown when my wife was still alive. For the first nine months, we thought she might beat it but she went downhill very quickly and only lasted 15 months after diagnosis.”
“Three weeks after she died I took him to Sydney and he ran a close third in the Group 1 Galaxy (1200m) and he won after that a week later. He was a big distraction and made you get on with living your life.”
Jungle Edge's success was a great distraction to Mick Bell during his grief
Mick’s tone changes slightly and his mind fleetingly wanders off to that dark chapter in his life 2 1/2 years ago. He pauses for a moment and then goes on to add, “horses help us all through don’t they.”
“Horses help us all through don’t they.” - Mick Bell
It’s no fluke that Mick, who toiled away for decades as a racehorse farrier, found this life-changing horse. Having trained Jungle Edge's older half-sister, Youiz Jane (Zariz), with moderate success, he followed the son of Dubawi’s (Dubai Millenium) progress closely, and, soon after his career got off to a winning start, he made an offer but it was knocked back.
An offer they couldn't refuse
Mick refused to give up and soon after Jungle Edge won his fifth race, Mick called up his trainer Chris Strickland again and presented a deal that, this time, he couldn’t refuse.
“I offered them $20,000 and the tipping point was that they could retain a 10 % share in him. I threw in the sweetener that I would never send them a training bill.”
Mick Bell made the owners of Jungle Edge an offer too good to refuse
“I know it’s a pittance to many but because I made money the hard way I don’t talk telephone numbers. It’s not a lot of money in the scheme of things but it was a lot to us at the time.”
Mick has just eight horses in work and charges a training fee of $80 per day. He might only be a small-time operator but his dreams are big and he remains hopeful of having Jungle Edge compete in the world’s richest turf race, the $14 million The Everest (1200m) in which he was an emergency runner last year.
“We will aim again for the Sydney Stakes (1200m) but if he is lucky enough to get a slot in The Everest we will have a crack. He’s an absolute expert wet tracker so they are not going to give us a slot unless it really suits them.”
As for the more immediate plans for Jungle Edge, Mick will continue following the weather patterns and hunt for suitable racing surfaces.
“It’s a bit of a quandary with his age and everything. I am going to be guided by the weather, wherever tracks are soft and races that he’s suited to.”
“I’ve always said he’s the best wet tracker in Australia and he’s gone on to prove he probably is, apart from Winx, but she’s not there now,” he says with a laugh.
Once in a lifetime horse
Jungle Edge might not be Winx (Street Cry {Ire}) but he’s certainly a champion in Mick’s eyes, and, like most above average racehorses, he possesses his fair share of unique character traits.
“He’s the king of this property here. He doesn't like it if anything else gets fed first. He’s a quirky horse. He's usually very nice but he can flick a switch. Not that he tries to buck anyone off or anything but he does fire up.”
The fiery old gelding has changed the course of Mick’s life and enriched it beyond what he ever thought was possible.
Jungle Edge has changed the course of Mick Bell's life
“He’s enabled me to stop shoeing horses other than my own and go overseas quite a lot. Before him I did not even have a passport. I have since been racing in Greece, France and to Newmarket. What I would like to do for the rest of my life is enjoy some racing travel and enjoy myself a bit.”
"Before him I did not even have a passport. I have since been racing in Greece, France and to Newmarket." - Mick Bell
For now, he’s happy to keep enjoying the journey with Jungle Edge, for as long as it lasts.
“I get butterflies when I look at him, like that feeling when you are in love. He’s been a big part of my life. He’s a very good racehorse, you wouldn’t mind him in the trenches would you?” said Mick.
