Joint Venture yields returns

SYDNEY – Late-blooming juvenile Joint Venture could chime into the early-season three-year-old feature races after putting an important win on the board at Rosehill on July 18.

A A$625,000 (S$563,000) yearling purchase for the Newgate stallions syndicate, the beautifully bred son of I Am Invincible showed natural improvement from his debut third in a 1,300m event at Wyong on July 4 to stamp his class in the A$160,000 Kia Ora Bloodlines to Headlines Handicap (1,200m) at Rosehill.

Trainer Chris Waller said Joint Venture is still learning, but the victory as a two-year-old will be a valuable addition to his resume, and a strong platform to potentially rise in grade.

“It’s also a good time of year to give a horse like him confidence,” said Sydney’s premier handler.

“You can see how much he does wrong at the start and in the straight.

“You can’t get confidence if they’re in a tough race doing things wrong, but at this time of the year they can.”

Waller will monitor how Joint Venture comes through after his first success, and he would step him out against more seasoned rivals in the coming weeks if the horse continues to please him.

“You can take on the better three-year-olds with a bit of fitness, and you can be competitive,” he said.

“We’d be pushing on, I’d say.

“He won’t get over too far (in journey), too quickly, but we will concentrate over the next few weeks on getting his ring craft right. If we get that right, there is a lot of improvement to come.”

Ridden by Sam Clipperton, Joint Venture ($51) scored by ¾ length over Gatineau (Tommy Berry), who boxed on well after leading.

Race favourite Seeiaye (Chad Schofield) held on well for third.

Eight races later in the A$200,000 Winter Challenge (1,500m), the Bjorn Baker-trained Midnight Dynamite ($12) has continued his outstanding winter form with a dominant win.

Connections of the Pierata gelding are keen to give him an opportunity to race for a A$3 million prizemoney purse following his explosive win.

After adding the latest “black type” feature to his victory in last month’s Listed Civic Stakes (1,400m), Midnight Dynamite’s next stop is set to be the Coffs Harbour Cup (1,600m) on Aug 7, where a victory will qualify him for the A$3 million Big Dance (1,600m) at Randwick on Melbourne Cup day on Nov 3.

“We’re mindful he’s had a long ‘prep’, so we’ll see how he comes through, but the initial plan is Coffs,” said Baker’s racing manager, Luke Hilton.

“We’d like to get him into the Big Dance if he can run a mile which, off that, it looks like he might.

“He has come to a new level this preparation. Even looking at him, I still don’t think we’ve gotten to the bottom of him. He’s going to be a better horse next preparation.

“He’s one of those Bjorn has been patient with. He’s got better and better each preparation. He’s reaping the benefits now and more to come hopefully.”

The four-year-old had the race in the bag a long way from home.

Relishing the solid tempo set by Whinchat (Jay Ford), Midnight Dynamite (Berry) burst to the front halfway up the straight to thump his rivals by three lengths.

Just Folk (Schofield) finished second with General Salute (Nash Rawiller) another long neck away in third.

The victory by Midnight Dynamite gave Baker back-to-back wins in the Winter Challenge, which he captured with Robusto in 2025.
SKY RACING WORLD