![Jett Stanley after winning the Adelaide Cup [Courtesy of Rising Sun Photography]](https://betsy.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/imageJETT.jpeg)
Jett Stanley didn’t know whether to laugh or cry in the moments after passing the post in Monday’s G2 Adelaide Cup.
The young jockey’s mount went to the line locked in a tenacious battle with race favourite Highland Bling but before he was able to catch his breath and check the result, Stanley was unceremoniously dumped from his horse when it shied 100m after the line.
Any pain or embarrassment disappeared instantly when the on-course paramedics told him that he had won the Cup.
In incredible post-race scenes, the 21-year-old started running back to scale and was first pumping the screaming crowd before he was reunited with American Wolf.
“The ambos asked if I was OK and I said ‘tell me the result of the photo and I’ll tell you how I’m feeling’ and then one of them said it was American Wolf and I started running after that and the limp went away pretty quickly,” Stanley said.
“I honestly didn’t know if I’d won the race or not.
“It’s something I won’t forget, especially not being on the horse.”
Stanley rode the perfect race on American Wolf.
A winner of the VRC St Leger as a three-year-old, the son of Tivaci relished the strong gallop on Monday.
The Trent Busuttin and Natalie Young-trained stayer improved from his midfield position and looked to have the race within his keeping in the final 200m but Lachie Neindorf lifted Highland Bling off the canvas.
Adelaide Cup | American Wolf
American Wolf & Highland Bling settle down to fight it out in the Adelaide Cup, but it’s the Wolf that reigns supreme in a race that had it all 🐺
📺 Ch. 78/68, Foxtel 529, Kayo or via our app
REPLAYS: https://t.co/ZIa4a02wC0 pic.twitter.com/iMjHmcM67F— Racing.com (@Racing) March 9, 2026
“He loved the strong tempo,” he said.
“I was very worried that it wasn’t going to be a strong tempo race and we wanted to be midfield or better for that reason but he stepped slowly.
“But there was so much pace down the straight the first time so I was very happy with my positioning.
“I was just able to take runs with him.”
“I thought I won the at the 300m but he tried to throw it away like he can do sometimes because he gets there and waits for them.”
The G2 win is the most significant of Stanley’s burgeoning career, less than a fortnight after he won the G3 Launceston Cup.
The feature wins have been reward for effort for a jockey living the ‘have saddle, will travel’ mantra – he rode at Stony Creek, Murray Bridge, Kilmore and Pakenham in the days preceding Monday’s Cup.
He will get the chance to add a G1 to his CV when he rides Jenni The Fox in Saturday’s Coolmore Classic.
“Winning this is on top,” he said.
“Last week I was able to win the Launceston Cup and now the Adelaide Cup, it’s been a whirlwind over the last 12 days.
“I think I’ve travelled 18,000 kilometres in two weeks.
“I’m on a flight tonight to Sydney to ride trackwork in the morning for Ciaron Maher and Tony Ottobre on a horse that I’m riding for them in the Coolmore on Saturday.
“I’ve won a Group 3, I’ve won a Group 2 now and hopefully I can get that Group 1 win now.”
While the Adelaide Cup hasn’t proven to be the strongest Melbourne Cup guide in recent years, Stanley hopes American Wolf can continue to emerge as a top class stayer in the spring.
“He’s a proper stayer and hopefully we see him at Flemington on the first Tuesday in November,” he said.
