The ghost of one of the wonderful racing characters of Hunter Valley of the past half century,Tommy Watson, had good reason to get stuck into the actual jungle juice itself after the running of the annual Jungle Juice Cup at Cessnock’s Wine Country Race Club’s meeting on July 5.

The oddly titled $22,500 annual event gets its name from a lethal drink referred to as Dr Jurd’s Jungle Juice that stopped many a racing identity, including journalists, over the years.

It was a concoction that became the trade mark of Mel Jurd after he fifty years ago purchased the Wollombi Wine Saloon 20kms away from where he was born in 1929, the year Phar Lap started his run to glory. Wollombi is at the half-way mark on the convict road which was at one time the land access from Sydney to the Hunter Valley.

Deceased Tommy Watson won many races throughout the Hunter Valley, but no Jungle Juice Cups as it was not in existence when he was training. He would no doubt, if he had been around, however, taken a sip of the Juice after the running of the Cup last week as a toast to the breeder and owner, his daughter and good mate Deleis Watson, of the winner Youthful King.

Tommy was noted as a horseman who got results from cheap buys at Sydney sales. In 2000 he bought a Supremo yearling filly in Sydney for a pocket money price of $250. Raced by Deleis under the name of Supreme Whiskey, she did not win, but placed five times on the New South Wales north coast in 13 starts.

From Miss Dewars, a Whiskey Road winner out the Bletchingly mare Cuenta, a Sydney winner and good producer, it is the $250 buy Supreme Whiskey who is the dam of Youthful King, so far her only live foal.

When he won the Jungle Juice Cup, the 5-year-old gelded Youthful King was having his 26 th start and seventh wins, the last two, appearances at Quirindi (by two lengths,14 runners) and Cessnock (0.8 lengths, also field of 14), in a space of 12 days. He followed the Cessnock outing with a long neck third on Randwick’s Kensington circuit this week.

He is by the sire king of north western New South Wales,Youthful Legs, an American horse related Danehill and Northern Dancer and like them tracing in male line to Nearctic.

In the stallion yards at Stephen Miller’s Erin Park stud at Tamworth,Youthful Legs has supplied 160 winners, including18 who have won seven or more races, eight reaching double figures.Three of the latter group have been the stakes winners Youthful Jack (12 wins), Get Up (11) and Malta (14).

Youthful King’s success comes hot on the hooves of Deleis Watson being one of the four owners of Heavenly Glow (by Spinning World), a winner of nine of 17 starts, including the AJC Australian Oaks, STC Arrowfield Stud Stakes and BTC Doomben Roses. Bought by Taree trainer Ross Stitt for $10,000 at the Magic Millions National Yearling sale at the Gold Coast, Heavenly Glow earned $792,360 at the races and sold to Patinack Farm as a broodmare for $1million.

Herself a very experienced horsewoman, Deleis Watson races Youthful King with his trainer, Jeremy Sylvester, of Kitchiner near Cessnock and gives a hand at the stables. Besides looking after a small string of horses at the stables, Sylvester manages Newcastle trainer Chris Lees’ pre-training and agistment farm at nearby Ellalong.