With an awkward starting position, Chris Waller hesitates over entering Jokers Grin into the Hall Mark Stakes at Randwick to kick off his season or proceeding with the primary Queensland option.
The past Perth quickster ended fifth in the Group 1 Winterbottom Stakes (1200m) last November and is poised to introduce himself to the stable in the 1200m Hall Mark Stakes this Saturday, concluding the autumn meet.
Before finalizing, Waller will gauge barrier 11’s severity, recalling the five-year-old gelding’s prior wide-gate wins in last year’s The Quokka (1200m) and Colonel Reeves Stakes (1100m) at Ascot.
“His draw isn’t very good, but his owners were quick to point out he has run some really good races from wide draws, and he is a ‘get-back’ horse,” Waller said.
“I’ll have a good look at the field and the race, and if we think he’s a genuine winning chance or top three chance, we’ll be running him.
“If I think he needs another two weeks based on the set up of the race, we might wait two weeks. But at this stage he’s running.”
Waller’s first blueprint bypassed Sydney’s autumn for Jokers Grin, focusing exclusively on Brisbane engagements.
The Queensland venture stays prominent, aiming at Group 1 Doomben 10,000 (1200m) May 16 and Eagle Farm’s Kingsford Smith Cup (1300m) shortly thereafter.
“We intended to go to Queensland with him for a Group Two race in two weeks’ time, but he has come up a bit quicker than I thought, which is good,” Waller said.
“I think he can get to a race like the Doomben 10,000 and Kingsford Smith. They’re my two target races, and then hopefully he’s done enough to show he can get ready for the good ones in the spring.”
Jokers Grin has integrated well into the stable, eased through his barrier workouts per Waller.
The master trainer values the gelding’s superiority to Generosity in the Quokka (third for her), with the mare validating via Challenge Stakes (1000m) win and near-miss fifth in Group 1 Galaxy (1100m).
“It’s good form. Even Generosity has form around him too, and she has come over and franked that form,” Waller said.
Successes with ex-WA horses include 2019 Metropolitan (2400m) for Come Play With Me and Theo Marks Stakes (1300m) for Arcadia Queen, who gained 2019 The Everest (1200m) entry.
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