Fingers crossed for Jokers Grin after rocky road to Everest audition

Breeder and managing owner Mark Jones believes his dream horse Jokers Grin, at his best, can measure up to his rivals in the $1 million The Shorts (1100m) at Randwick on Saturday.

And if he does, Jones would love to race him in the “ultimate”, the $20 million The Everest.

However, after a rocky road which has stretched to this week, it was a case of fingers crossed on Friday.

Jokers Grin – a home-bred son of Maschino out of mare Walk In Beauty, gifted to Jones and David Gatti by long-time friend and trainer Bernie Miller – won nine of 13 starts and $2.66 million in West Australia before coming to Chris Waller’s premier Rosehill stable in January.

Feet problems, though, have delayed his debut for Waller and again had him in doubt this week. Waller reported Jokers Grin had a temperature on Tuesday, which was then linked to a foot abscess. Blood work results and track gallops have since been positive and Jones made the long trek from Western Australia on Thursday in the hope of seeing him race.

He made the trip in April before the Hall Mark Stakes, only to wake up to an email telling him Jokers Grin was lame.

“I’ll just keep the fingers crossed. We’ve had a bit of a rocky road,” Jones said.

“We were planning a two-race run up to Queensland [after the Hall Mark], but then he got a foot abscess, then corns in another foot, the abscess flared a few times and we kept putting it back a couple of races before making the decision to put him out and get him right.”

As evidenced in Jokers Grin’s two slick trials, Jones said the reports this preparation, before the setback this week, were excellent.

“He looked a bit jaded last time. He raced in the Winterbottom then fronted up for the Gold Rush, but he got a respiratory virus.

“He had three weeks in the paddock, then on the truck for five hours to Melbourne and eight hours to Sydney, so he didn’t get a lot of space into his first prep. This time he looks a better horse, a lot fresher and Chris is happy with the way he’s going.”

Jones had his fingers crossed also that his six-year-old could match it with the likes of Everest hopefuls Headwall and Joliestar, and confirmed runner Ninja, in his first test outside WA.

“It would be lovely to see him measure up to these. I think on his best, he certainly should,” Jones said.

“It’s a pretty slick field. In a lot of his early racing in the west, except for the Quokka, it was against lesser opposition, but he did very well for us and we’ve had a fairytale ride with him, so hopefully it continues.