"Disappointing": Is Jokers Grin screaming for 1400m?

By Connor Scanlon

The only Group 1 of the weekend was out west in Perth, where Libertad won his first ever Group 1 in the Winterbottom Stakes (1200m).

The even-priced favourite Overpass went head-to-head with the outsider Libertad down the Ascot straight, but the five-year-old proved supreme against the 2023 and 2024 Winterbottom winner.

Perth local Jokers Grin, who was right in the market, missed the start and had things not go his way throughout the race, resulting in a fifth-place finish.

“It was a ding-dong finish,” Trav Noonan said about the Group 1 on RSN’s Correct Weight.

“Overpass, Libertad and Rey Magnerio stretched across the track, but it was the vigour of Jamie Mott getting Libertad his first Group 1.

“It wasn’t the race that many expected to unfold with Jokers Grin and Overpass heading up the mark, it had much been made that it was a two-horse race and Libertad just flew under the radar.

“This horse (Libertad) was coming off some good form lines - he ran fourth in the Champions Sprint behind Giga Kick and was just able to back that up.

“He’s obviously a horse who really loves his travel.”

Trav’s brother Nick Noonan couldn’t help but agree with Trav.

“Yeah, he’s raced well in Queensland before when they’ve travelled him,” Nick agreed.

“So, he just seems like a tough horse that handles anything you throw at him.”

Nick was ecstatic about jockey Jamie Mott claiming another Group 1 victory, as the form analyst believed Mott deserved the triumph for all his hard work.

“He was given a beautiful ride by Jamie Mott. It’s good to see Motty get another Group 1 win, he’s probably one of the hardest working jockeys you’d see,” Nick revealed.

“He gets his name up in lights there, over in Perth.

“He’s one that usually rides a Group 1 winner here in Melbourne, then has to go up to Traralgon or Warrnambool the next day.”

The conversation shifted to the Perth local, however, with Nick discussing what many described as a disappointing race.

The form analyst questioned whether Jokers Grin is searching for 1400m off the back of that start.

“Jokers Grin, I don’t know, it just didn’t really seem to work out all that well for him,” Nick said.

“Probably at his own fault though – missing the start, then over-raced through the middle stages.

“He definitely got a big enough gap in the straight and had enough clear air to run on and he didn’t really.

“Maybe he’s looking for 1400m off that run?”

Trav chimed in, defending the horse, but did admit that the $1.5 million Gold Rush (1400m) on December 13 isn’t out of the question for Jokers Grin.

“He’s not a horse to really knock, like he’s won nine races from 13 starts, so he’s a definite winner," Trav stated.

“But you would think on that, the Gold Rush (1400m) isn’t over on what he put down there.

“A little bit disappointing relative to expectations, the race didn’t work out for him, and as you also stated he didn’t get away all that well from the gates.

“As a backmarker, this is the scenario that’s going to happen now if he’s going to race at the elite level – he’s going to have things against him and that’s just what happened there (in the Winterbottom).

Jokers Grin is currently the $3.20 favourite with Sportsbet for the Gold Rush.