King Of The Jungle

Recent form suggests King Of The Jungle remains a horse capable of winning on its day. It has picked up 2 victories from its last 6 runs, most recently scoring at Ayr on 20 June — two months ago — and was still active as of just yesterday. The most interesting part of the record is how inconsistent it can be: in those last six races, the horse finished first, then second, then fifth, then ran down the field twice with a tenth-place finish, before bouncing back to tenth again. It is the kind of profile that makes for a tricky horse to train and saddle — capable, but unreliable.

Lewis Chalkley has been the horse's regular pilot, but the partnership has not clicked: just 1 win from 11 races together, giving the jockey a 9 percent win rate aboard. That suggests either the horse or the pairing simply does not work, or that Chalkley has only ridden the horse in tougher contests than the 6 wins have come in. Either way, King Of The Jungle remains in the capable hands of Michael and David Easterby at Sheriff Hutton in North Yorkshire — a yard that has already sent out 55 winners this season — but the horse looks a mid-field performer destined for steady competition rather than any bigger prizes.