Australia: Jojo Was A Man on the improve entering Winter Challenge Stakes at Rosehill Gardens

JoJo Was A Man has a record that seems to get better with age.

A 4-year-old gelding, JoJo Was A Man won his debut in March 2021 in Australia, but managed only one additional win in eight more starts last year.

This year, Jojo Was A Man has won 3 of 5 starts, leading to his second appearance in a stakes in Saturday’s $111,200 Winter Challenge Stakes at 7 1/2 furlongs at Rosehill Gardens in Sydney.

JoJo Was A Man was beaten a nose in the Winter Stakes at seven furlongs at Royal Randwick Racecourse in Sydney on July 9, closing from fourth in a field of nine to just miss. His five wins have ranged from 6 1/4 furlongs to 7 1/2 furlongs, making the Winter Challenge Stakes well within his range.

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Reece Jones, one of the leading apprentice jockeys in the state of New South Wales, has the mount. Jones has ridden JoJo Was A Man to his last three wins.

The Winter Challenge Stakes, the eighth race on a 10-race program, drew a field of 13. Cross Talk, a winner of 4 of 6 starts, was a slight 2-1 favorite on Wednesday. JoJo Was A Man was 3-1, while Gold Trip and Toomuchtobear were joint third choices at 8-1.

The Winter Challenge will be the Australia debut of Gold Trip, who was fourth in the Group 1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in Paris in 2020.

First post time at Rosehill Gardens is 9:20 p.m. Eastern or 6:20 p.m. Pacific on Friday. Wagering is available through DRFBets.com.

Cross Talk will have his stakes debut in the Winter Challenge on the strength of a comprehensive win by 3 3/4 lengths in a seven-furlong handicap at Randwick on July 9. Trained by Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott, Cross Talk closed from fourth to take a commanding lead in the stretch.

JoJo Was A Man and Cross Talk and eight others in the field will carry minimum weight of 116.8 pounds because of the presence of Gold Trip at the top of the weights at 134.4 pounds. Gold Trip has an official handicap rating far superior to his rivals, creating a sizeable gap in weight assignments.

Gold Trip, trained by Ciaron Maher and David Eustace, is winless in three starts since the 2020 Arc de Triomphe, including a second in the Group 1 Prix Ganay at Longchamp Racecourse in Paris in May 2021.

The Winter Challenge is Gold Trip’s first start in 55 weeks, since a third-place finish in the Group 1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud in Paris on July 4, 2021.

Earlier this month in Australia, Gold Trip had a schooling race from the gate, or barrier trial, finishing second of 10 at 4 1/2 furlongs at Albury Racecourse.