Isle Of Jura books Hardwicke ticket with Goodwood strike

An appearance at Royal Ascot is next on the agenda for Isle Of Jura after the Bahrain Triple Crown winner made a triumphant return to Britain in the William Hill Festival Stakes at Goodwood.

The four-year-old enjoyed a hugely productive winter in the Middle East for trainer George Scott and jockey Callum Shepherd, winning four of his five starts overall, including a hat-trick of big-race wins since the turn of the year.

Making his first appearance since his most recent Bahrain triumph in early March, Isle Of Jura was a 6-1 shot to record a first victory at Listed level on home soil and after being held up off a steady pace, powered home from the rear to get the better of the blinkered Mujtaba by half a length.

“He gave everyone connected with him the winter of a lifetime and for him to kind of validate his form here is very special for us,” said Scott.

“He was giving a penalty away to the second horse, who is rated the same as him (112), albeit that horse is out of form.

“It was a very messy race, Isle Of Jura is a horse who loves to close off a strong pace and he didn’t get any of that today. He really had to dig in with grit and show a proper will to win.

“Callum had so much confidence in him, he didn’t panic, he had him in the right position and he got the job done.”

Scott, who had originally planned on running his stable star in Thursday’s Brigadier Gerard Stakes before rain-softened ground at Sandown prompted a change of plan, believes there will be even more to come from his charge when he tackles a faster surface in the Hardwicke Stakes next month.

“He’ll certainly go to the Hardwicke now, back to a mile and a half on what will hopefully be fast ground and a fast pace – it should be absolutely perfect for him, really,” the trainer added.

“He’s come back from Bahrain, had a break and he was a bit fresh and a bit fizzy today in the preliminaries, so I expect that he’ll come on for the run.

“I’d be really confident that you’ll see an improved performer next time.”