A Jack Grealish-inspired double was just foiled amid the celebrations of Manchester City's stunning Premier League win.
City overhauled Aston Villa from 2-0 down to scoop their fourth title in just five years, under the guidance of Pep Guardiola. Ilkay Gundogan found the net twice after coming off the bench, adding to a top notch strike from Rodri which sent fans wild with delight.
If that had not played out as it did on Sunday, Liverpool, just a point behind City, could have overtook them by defeating Wolves. But the fightback at the Etihad Stadium was the deciding factor. And as the crowd cheered the final result, a topically-named horse was being prepared for a race at York.
Owner Lee Turland called Super Superjack after Jack Grealish, who joined the Sky Blues after the agreement of a British-record fee. Ironically Turland made the decision when the attacking midfielder played for Villa, the team he supports.
As the dramatic final day unfolded, with the two sides taking each other on in an epic clash, the thoroughbred had an important assignment of his own. On the back of two recent wins, Super Superjack started the 3-1 favourite for the Sky Bet Sunday Series Stayers Handicap.
Positioned towards the rear under jockey Jack Mitchell, the chestnut gelding was pushed along three furlongs from the finish. Then he encountered some trouble in running which delayed his challenge. His rider switched right and the stayer made up ground towards the leaders.
In the straight, the Keith Dalgleish-trained Evaluation took over up front and like the Premier League champions, Super Superjack made stealthy late progress. Unlike the football team though, the run was not enough to secure the spoils. The gelding went down fighting by half-a-length to his longer-priced rival.
Connections were still able to take some encouragement from the outing, as it was the five-year-old's best effort on the racecourse to date. In 2020, he started competing in handicaps off a mark of 49, but started to improve significantly when stepped up in trip.
He took three races at Bath in 2021 and resumed his progress on seasonal debut this year, crossing the line first at Goodwood and Ascot. Given a rating of 79, 30lb higher than the handicapper's opening assessment, the York effort was another step forward. Like Man City and their supporters, his trainer Milton Harris had plenty to cheer in the last jumps season.
The Wiltshire trainer recorded 56 National Hunt winners, including a Grade 1 with Knight Salute at Aintree's Grand National meeting. The result was upheld in a subsequent appeal by the owners of the runner-up, Pied Piper, looking into interference jumping the final hurdle.
Harris said he hopes to convince Turland to switch Super Superjack to a career over obstacles when the time is right, but first he has his sights set on one of the big summer Flat meetings.
"He wanted a stronger gallop yesterday, he likes to come through horses," he told Mirror Racing. "His owner Lee is a big Villa fan, he bred the horse and named him after Jack Grealish before he was sold to Man City. He took the result in good spirits!
"We're planning to send the horse to Glorious Goodwood and it's nice that he's still improving. He jumps brilliantly so hopefully he can race over hurdles further down the line."
