KEY POINTS:
Paul Moroney reckons each five metres of Jokers Wild's last 20m of Saturday's A$750,000 ($846,000) Cadbury Guineas in Melbourne cost the owners $1 million.
It's history how Jokers Wild looked certain to win the group one race but yielded to champion Australian filly Miss Finland in the last two strides and Casino Prince in the final stride.
In being beaten by a short head and a nose Jokers Wild missed out on $4 million-$5 million in potential stallion earnings which an Australian 3-year-old group one victory would have assured.
After a mixed formline in New Zealand for any number of reasons Jokers Wild was starting to attract his detractors, but Saturday's magnificent performance, which stretched the neck of Australia's best 3-year-old filly by lengths, gained him enormous respect not just at home, but in Australia.
Trainer Mike Moroney and co-owner Paul Moroney were both yesterday a little deflated on either side of the Tasman to have come so close to greatness and missed. But in balance both know this was a huge result.
Paul Moroney watched the race on the television monitor on the side of the tote caravan parked adjacent to the Ellerslie back parade ring after legging Michael Coleman into the saddle on Biggity Bonus for the last race.
As the field came back after the race Opie Bosson, who rode Authoress, said to Moroney that his colt must have gone really well in Melbourne because when he walked Authoress through the tunnel under the grandstand to go out onto the track all he could hear was Moroney screaming his head off.
"I've definitely got a very dry throat this morning," admitted Moroney.
He wasn't the only one at Ellerslie making a noise cheering Jokers Wild home.
Hugely underrated Melbourne jockey Steve Arnold was impressed with his first ride on Jokers Wild.
"Steve told Mike that it's a long time since he's been on a horse that has accelerated as quickly as the colt did between the 500m and the home turn."
Two major points face the camp - where to head to seek that all-important group one Australian win before they run out of time as a 3-year-old and the slight soreness Jokers Wild displayed after the race of his life.
"The negative is that he pulled up gingerly," says Paul Moroney. "It's in the same near foreleg that he had the sprained fetlock a couple of months ago.
"Mike said he was a little concerned last night, but this morning he's 95 per cent confident it's nothing too serious. He trotted him up this morning and he's a touch scratchy rather than sore."
The Doncaster Handicap in Sydney is probably the lesser of the two options being considered for Jokers Wild. "We've been loath to aim him at Sydney because we've seen quite a few horses run off the plane in Melbourne then head to Sydney and lose form."
The Doncaster is Australia's toughest 1600m race where they run hard at both ends of the race and almost certainly wouldn't suit Jokers Wild.
"The second option is to freshen him for the 1200m Goodwood in Adelaide in early May then set him for the Stradbroke in Brisbane."
* Lee Freedman put Miss Andretti up with the great Makybe Diva and Schillaci after she smashed the Caulfield course record to win the Newmarket Handicap.
The 5-year-old daughter of Ihtiram raced three wide under 56kg, weight-for-age for a mare of her age, to run a time of 1min 7.74sec to break the old mark held jointly by Hurricane Sky and You Remember.
Sent out at $4, Miss Andretti scored by a head from Gold Edition ($4.60) with Undue ($14) a neck away third with Magnus ($11) a nose away in fourth.
"She didn't surprise me but the time did," said Freedman, who has now won three Newmarkets, the others with the grey flash Schillaci in 1992 and 3-year-old filly Alinghi in 2005.
"She put in an outstanding performance and is right up there with Schillaci who won The Galaxy with 57kg as a 3-year-old. In terms of our stable she's right up there with Makybe Diva."
* Pompeii Ruler claimed his first group one victory when he showed a brilliant turn of foot to take out the Australian Cup.
The win gave jockey Craig Newitt two of the three group one races on the programme as he celebrated his 22nd birthday.
Pompeii Ruler, who is trained on the track by Mick Price, beat Marasco and Tawqeet.
