Champion South African sprinter J J The Jet Plane has been transferred to Richard Hannon’s stables in Wiltshire.
J J The Jet Plane (5g Jet Master – Majestic Guest by Northern Guest) was originally trained by Lucky Houdalakis and was a G1 winner of the 2008 Computaform Sprint, Golden Horse Stakes and Mercury Sprint in his homeland before connections sent him to Mike de Kock for a northern hemisphere campaign.
J J The Jet Plane (SAf) won the G3 Al Quoz Sprint at Nad al Sheba in February before travelling to England where he was a first-up winner of the LR Up And Away Stakes at Windsor on June 1.
Stepped up to Group 1 company, he ran well without winning when fourth in the Golden Jubilee at Ascot and third in the July Cup at Newmarket. His only below-par effort this year was a fading seventh in the G2 Lennox Stakes at Goodwood on Tuesday.
“I’m happy to have such a good horse added to the string,” Hannon said. “He was a Group 1 winner in South Africa, and he showed that he was a top flight horse in Britain, too. He is entered in the Haydock Sprint Cup, and that looks an ideal race for him.”
Thea Boyens, the second largest shareholder in J J The Jet Plane, had no comment on the changes of stables when quizzed by the media earlier this week. It’s believed a clash between Boyens and de Kock was the catalyst for the transfer.