Jokers Grin came of age during a very profitable autumn campaign and he’s on track to ink that bank-balance in elite black-type come the Group 1 Winterbottom Stakes (1200m) at Ascot on November 29.
That spring journey commenced on Saturday in the G3 Prince Of Wales Stakes (1000m) when he became the 10th individual black-type winner for Alwyn Park stallion Maschino (Encosta De Lago) who completed a winning double with Smooth Chino in the PKF Perth Hcp (1200m).
Jokers Grin is a good news story and he looked a good thing as a $1.60 favourite first-up in the Prince Of Wales. Held together at the back of the field, he was given a reminder by Pat Carberry at the furlong and won with a minimum of fuss from Oscar’s Fortune (Rich Enuff) and Repossession (Sessions).
“When a plan comes off it makes me absolutely proud and he will only improve off that win,” popular trainer Bernie Miller predicted. “They weren’t going hard and he charged a bit but then Patty took him to the outside and it worked out well.
“His coat has changed and he has to tidy up a bit but I will be guided by whatever Patty says. He’s that good at picking up small things in an animal and when I tell my vet she takes note. He will do some pacework this week and then have a gallop on Saturday before the (G3) Colonel Reeves (1100m) in a fortnight.”
Jokers Grin (5g Maschino – Walk In Beauty by Barely A Moment) won five in a row during an initial prep last year before returning for a get-rich-quick victory in the $5 million Kia Quokka (1200m) at Ascot in April.
Carberry called it the pinnacle of his career. “I’m blessed to be Bernie’s best mate and to ride Jokers Grin for him. The owners get a real buzz and I told them what I can feel on this horse is amazing.”
Jokers Grin (Photo / Western Racepix) is a homebred for former Yarradale Stud manager Mark Jones and Stoneville-based David Gatti. His dam Walk In Beauty (Barely A Moment) was prepared by Miller and was retired after winning two in a row at Bunbury in February 2013.
Her first winner Cup Night notched the first black-type victory for Maschino in the LR Raconteur Stakes (1500m) of 2019. She has a yearling filly by the Alwyn Park resident and delivered a colt by him in September.
“Walk In Beauty was a gift from Bernie,” Jones told RWWA journalist Josh Miller last week. “I’ve known him for a long time and being involved with family and friends makes it so much more special.”
Jones, his wife Linda along with their daughter Lisa Ludlow and her partner Brandon are in the prized galloper’s ownership group and they’re living the dream all the way to the Winterbottom.
