Champion trainer Chris Waller has had a run of promising juvenile winners as we work towards the end of the season and I Am Invincible colt Joint Venture has added his name to the list after overcoming difficulty to win at Rosehill on Saturday.
Third on debut at Wyong in a maiden earlier this month, Joint Venture was up in class for an open juvenile contest over 1200m and faced with a heavy nine track.
He missed the kick for Sam Clipperton and found himself at the back of the field, but was allowed to find his feet and gradually worked on to the bridle to travel smoothly on the fence.
Clipperton elected to hunt the fence and it proved a winning move as he surged past his rivals on the inside to win by three-quarters of a length.
A $625,000 Magic Millions purchase from Widden Stud for China Horse Club/Newgate Bloodstock/Kia Ora Stud, Joint Venture has type, pedigree and now a win on the board to give optimism for his 3YO season.
“He’s full of promise, but very green and can do a few things wrong as we saw at the start when he missed it and even in the straight today he was still a bit wayward,” said Chris Waller.
“Things never really worked out for him at Wyong and he has worked well since, very well in fact.
“We’ll concentrate on getting his ringcraft right over the next few weeks and when that happens he has a lot of improvement to come.”
Bred by Widden in partnership, Joint Venture is the third winner from three foals to race from stakes-winning Snitzel mare Nomothaj, a daughter of Group III winning juvenile Real Stolle.
“He’s a nice horse with a lovely temperament, but he was being a bit of a lad in the barriers, hence the slow beginning,” said Sam Clipperton.
“The further the race went on the more he bridled up underneath me. He did no work in the run and it ended up being a simple dash up two furlongs for him. He handled the ground really well and was strong through the line.”
Widden Stud sold a Zoustar yearling filly from Nomothaj at Magic Millions this year for $325,000 to Dalziel Bloodstock/Moody Racing Pty Ltd and the mare is due to foal again to Zoustar this spring after missing the year before.
Joint Venture is the tenth 2YO winner this season for I Am Invincible with seven in Australia, two in New Zealand, one in Japan and they include six stakjes performers highlighted by Group I winning colt Seize the Day and Group II winning filly Chayan, who sold for an astonishing $5.6million at the Inglis Chairman’s Sale this year.
I Am Invincible stands at a fee of $220,000 at Yarraman Park this spring.
