a href link click does not open in new window

a href link click does not open in new window

I modified an online example ( found here :  http://jayblanchard.net/basics_of_jquery_ajax.html ) 

The idea is counting the number times people click on a link (the example is about a button click)

I modified it and the count clicking works but no new page is opened.

  1. <!DOCTYPE html>
    <html>
    <head>
        <meta charset="utf-8">
        <title>Click Counter</title>
        <script type="text/javascript" src="https://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/3.4.1/jquery.min.js"></script>
     
     <script type="text/javascript">
    $(function(){
        $('body').on('click', 'a', function(event){
            event.preventDefault();
            var currentNumber = $('#currentNumber').text();
            $.ajax({
                method: 'POST',
                url: 'counter.php',
                data: {currentNumber : currentNumber}
            })
            .done(function(newNumber){
                $('#currentNumber').text(newNumber);
            });
        });
    });
    </script>
    </head>
    <body>
    <center>
    <br><br><br><br>
    <div id="currentNumber">0</div>
    <!--
    <button type="button">Click To Add One</button>
    -->
    <a href="https://www.jquery.com" target="_new">https://www.jquery.com</a><br>
     
    </center>
    </body>
    </html>

the counter script is the same as in the example in the link

how come the link is not opened in a new tab and how can I fix it ?