Jungle Edge has provided Georgina Cartwright with a number of firsts with the apprentice hopeful the biggest will come at Morphettville.
Cartwright is chasing her first Group One victory and rides veteran sprinter Jungle Edge in The Goodwood (1200m) on Saturday.
Jungle Edge gave Cartwright her first metropolitan victory when successful at Sandown in December 2017 and provided the apprentice her first, and only ride in Sydney when second at Randwick.
The Mick Bell-trained gelding also gave Cartwright her first feature victory in Adelaide, winning the Group Three D C McKay Stakes (1100m) on May 2.
In four rides on Jungle Edge, Cartwright has two wins, a second and a third and has spent the past two weeks partnering the gelding in trackwork at Morphettville.
“I can’t wait and I’m very thankful for the opportunity from Mick Bell and the ownership group,” Cartwright said.
“I gave him a nice gallop on Tuesday on the grass and he felt really good.
“He seems to have come through that win really well and is bouncing out of his skin.”
The Morphettville track was rated in the slow range on Friday and with no rain forecast Cartwright is expecting it track to firm up.
But Cartwight does not believe that will be detrimental to Jungle Edge’s chances after his win last time.
“It was rated a soft six towards the end of the day and I believe it was closer to a five by his race which added more merit to his win as he was pulling away from them late,” Cartwright said.
“There is no rain forecast, unfortunately, but he’s in form and he has run good races before on good tracks.
“He’s not just a wet-tracker.”
Cartwright made the decision early in the coronavirus pandemic to base herself in Adelaide ahead of the carnival.
She was the first of the Victorian jockeys to switch states, undergoing a two-week isolation period before riding, but incurred a suspension on her first meeting out.
“At that point I was thinking is this really worth it missing almost a month of riding, but after I won on Jungle Edge and then I had another winner last week, it has been worthwhile,” Cartwright said.
“To get my first couple of rides in Group Ones has been a great opportunity, one that I probably wouldn’t get otherwise.”