Jaarffi back in work for shot at another Group 1

New Zealand’s weight-for-age ranks have been thinned with several retirements, but one top performer that will be returning this season is Cambridge Stud’s Group 1-winning mare Jaarffi. 

A perennial bridesmaid at the highest level, the now seven-year-old daughter of Iffraaj broke through for an elusive elite-level victory in the Group 1 Otaki Maori WFA Classic (1600m) at Ellerslie in February, and owner-breeders Sir Brendan and Lady Jo Lindsay are eager for more.

The couple had been weighing up sending their million-dollar earner to stud after attaining her Group One win, however, their private trainer Lance Noble said they ultimately decided to give her one more year on the track before retiring her to their iconic thoroughbred nursery.

“Jaarffi has come back into work this season, which I am thrilled about,” Noble said. “There was talk about sending her to stud, but she is going to have another season.

“She has been such a slow-maturing horse, we haven’t over-raced her. She never raced at two and she only had a couple of starts at three. For a seven-year-old mare she is comparatively lightly raced. 

“It is very hard to get genuine weight-for-age Group 1 horses. They (Group 1 weight-for-age races) are not stacked with runners most of the time and once you are at that level you seem to be able to hold that level.

“There have been a few retirements and hopefully she can get back to that top level.

“Brendan and Jo love racing and they love the big days, and she is a horse that can take us there.”

Jaarffi will bypass the early spring features and follow a similar blueprint to last season. 

“Because it is such a long season, we tend to miss those early triple crown races and we will target the Auckland Thoroughbred Breeders’ (Gr.2, 1400m) in November and kick on from there into those miles and Zabeel Classic (Gr.1, 2000m),” Noble said. “She is a weight-for-age horse, so she will follow a similar plan to last season.”