Joint Venture (top) and The Good Life (bottom)
China Horse Club’s two-year-olds came to the fore across Australia and the United States at the weekend, with Joint Venture and The Good Life scoring impressive victories and Spain narrowly denied at stakes level.
Joint Venture opened Saturday’s Rosehill programme with a strong performance in the 1200 metre two-year-old handicap.
The Chris Waller-trained son of I Am Invincible missed the start and settled towards the rear on the Heavy 9 surface before improving around the home turn. Still showing signs of inexperience, he balanced strongly in the straight and powered home to defeat Gatineau by almost a length.
The victory came at just his second start, following a debut third at Wyong, and marked him as a progressive colt heading towards his three-year-old season.
Spain came within the narrowest of margins of adding a stakes victory to the weekend when finishing second in the Group 3 South Australian Sires’ Produce Stakes at Morphettville Parks.
The Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott-trained son of Snitzel raced prominently under Winona Costin and fought strongly throughout the straight, going down by just 0.1 lengths to Neveu over 1400 metres.
It was an excellent performance at only his second start and secured valuable black type for the son of Snitzel.
The weekend’s juvenile success extended to Saratoga, where The Good Life made an immediate impression on debut for trainer Brad Cox.
The son of Life Is Good showed natural speed under Manny Franco, leading throughout the six-furlong maiden before drawing clear to score by three and a half lengths in 1:11.14.
The Good Life defeated the highly regarded Powerline, a US$1.8 million son of Flightline, and became another promising representative from the first crop of China Horse Club and WinStar Farm’s multiple Grade 1 winner Life Is Good.
“It was an outstanding weekend for our two-year-olds across both continents,” said China Horse Club’s Michael Smith.
“All three are now on paths towards stakes races and it is always a positive sign when young horses show a level of brilliance early in their careers.
“The dream of better things to come is very much alive and we look forward to seeing them step up in company over the next couple of months as we continue to raise the bar and develop each of them.”