A hit in the making as Triumph scorer showcases talents of Jukebox Jury

Jukebox Jury's chances of proving a hit rather than a miss with breeders have improved after son Farclas stormed to success in the JCB Triumph Hurdle on Friday, only weeks after the sire's arrival at Burgage Stud in County Carlow.

Trained by Gordon Elliott for Gigginstown House Stud, Farclas had finished second in the Knight Frank Juvenile Hurdle and Spring Juvenile Hurdle on his previous two starts in Ireland, having won on the Flat at Clairefontaine last summer.

Eye-catchingly, Farclas hails from the first four-year-old crop of Jukebox Jury, having been conceived when the son of Montjeu stood at his previous home of Gestut Etzean in Germany.

He is also one of only five runners over hurdles in Britain or Ireland for the sire to date, a number that also includes Anthony Honeyball's useful sort Jukebox Jive.

As Burgage Stud's Victor Connolly acknowledged after the Triumph Hurdle, the result is the stuff of dreams for a stallion owner attempting to establish a new name.

“It's the perfect promotion – Cheltenham success is the best form of advertising” he said. “Jukebox Jury arrived in December, and only a week later Farclas ran second at Leopardstown and he's gone on from there.”

Explaining why Burgage Stud moved to buy the stallion, he added: “We'd seen the promise he had from his early runners bred in Germany – he had a very high winners-to-runners strike-rate with his first two-year-olds – and were hearing good reports from trainers.

“He won the Royal Lodge Stakes at two and was also a Group 1 or Group 2 winner in every season from that age to five, when he dead-heated in the Irish St Leger. He ran 22 times and was very tough and very sound. Those are important qualities, as not every colt can do that.”

Jukebox Jury's consistency and longevity on the track are especially reassuring as Montjeu may be an absolutely outstanding influence in the jumps sphere – six of his sons have now supplied Grade 1 winners; Authorized, Davidoff, Montmartre, Scorpion and Walk In The Park are the others – but he is known for passing on the capriciousness that often goes hand in hand with class.

“Mark Johnston loved him and kept producing him to win,” Connolly said. “He was still buying yearlings by him last year. I know from having the horse here he's very relaxed and kind with a lovely temperament and has none of those traits you'd sometimes associate with Montjeu.”

Jukebox Jury is not done on the Flat, either. He has supplied the Italian Group 3 winner Wiesenbach and Listed-placed pair Felix and Vive Marie, while Henry Candy saddled Sovereign Duke to win a Kempton novice stakes in January despite the Derby entry showing greenness.

In proving to be a fine dual-purpose tool he is emulating Burgage Stud elder statesman Shantou, sire of Prix Vermeille heroine Sweet Stream and a regular source of high-class jumpers – most recently Thursday's Brown Advisory and Merriebelle Stable Plate winner The Storyteller.

Connolly reports Shantou, who won the St Leger under Frankie Dettori a fortnight before the jockey would complete his magnificent seven at Ascot way back in 1996, is still going strong.

“He's in good form and already has mares in foal this season,” he said. “But he's 25 now so we're looking after him.”

There is another similarity between Jukebox Jury and Shantou, in that it is not a case of pile 'em high with their books at Burgage Stud.

“With Jukebox Jury we've got a good syndicate together and we'll be sending him some nice mares,” Connolly explained. “We're not looking to cover 300 with him – we'll be going the same route as we did with Shantou and Bob Back [the late sire of Bobs Worth]. It'll be all about quality.

“Shantou is often among the leading sires at Cheltenham but I doubt he'll ever be a champion for the season as he doesn't have enough runners.”

The other sire receiving the quality over quantity treatment is Sea Moon, a Group 2-winning son of Beat Hollow from the family of Brian Boru and Workforce, who stands alongside Jukebox Jury and Shantou. His first crop are yearlings.

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