THERE is very little National Hunt racing of great merit at this time of the year, though Uttoxeter stages a rare blacktype race over jumps, the Listed Summer Cup Handicap Chase.

It saw the familiar colours of JP McManus in the winners’ enclosure after the Michael Rowland-bred 10-year-old Jerrysback landed his first blacktype win. He has been placed a number of times in graded chases. A winning graduate of the Irish point-to-point scene, Jerrysback was sold for €11,000 to Richard Rohan as a newly-turned yearling at Goffs, and to Ian Ferguson later the same year for a profitable €28,000 at Tattersalls Ireland.

Jerrysback is a son of Jeremy (Danehill Dancer) who has a couple of sons at stud in Ireland. He is the 29th blacktype winner for the late Irish National Stud and Garryrichard Stud stallion under National Hunt rules, and Jeremy also had seven stakes winners on the flat. Jerrysback is a half-brother to the dam of Captain Guinness (Arakan), a dual Grade 3 winning chaser who was third to Shiskin and Eldorado Allen in the Grade 1 Arkle Chase at Cheltenham in 2021.