Australians have a bona fide love affair with slot racing and the $5million Quokka at Ascot on Saturday delivered one of the best fairytales of the turf.
Even the diehard traditionalists - who first decried the concept when Racing NSW boldly introduced the now world-famous The Everest in 2017 with a purse of $16 million - have been won over by slot racing's unique appeal.
The prizemoney on offer can be genuinely life changing and the thrill of competition extends far beyond the race itself, to months of speculation and long range forecasting about which horses will - or won't - make the field.
It creates a fascination, a theatre of meritocracy that lovers of racing and punting cannot resist, and in the last seven years slot races have popped up absolutely everywhere.
The big daddy Everest is now worth $20 million and has garnered well deserved Group One status along the way, putting to rest the argument that slot races with their snappy non-traditional names are a gaudy marketing spectacle kept afloat on a sea of hype and thus inherently “less than.”
Western Australia's version The Quokka is still in relative infancy but like most of them it has been a success from day one.
It's named after the cute and iconic local marsupial, but it's a deadly serious horse race, a Special Conditions weight for age showdown over 1200m with a purse of $5m, thus the fifth richest race in Australia at this time and the grand finale of Ascot's autumn carnival.
The inaugural Quokka ran in 2023 and the race only has one name on its honour roll to date - that of Sydney “raider” Overpass.
With two Quokkas and two G1 Winterbottom Stakes to his name, Bjorn Baker's elite sprinting son of Vancouver clearly regards the Ascot 1200m course as his own personal fiefdom. This year he and Josh Parr were back again, chasing a hat-trick of Quokkas and attempting to retain their grip on the title of undefeated champions.
But for the redoutable presence of Overpass, Western Australia's glamour girl Amelia's Jewel - recently retired and one of the best horses ever bred in the west - would have those Quokkas in her trophy cabinet but he found a way to defeat her each time.
Could Overpass make it a threepeat? Punters looking for a reason to bet against him hopefully mulled over his second up record as perhaps a shred of evidence that the big horse might have a slight chink in his armour - but they would be betting against the genius of his trainer.
Nevertheless, Overpass had some stiff opposition to contend with.
As our friends and rivals “across the ditch” have also embraced the slot racing phenomenon, it was only a matter of time before the Quokka would be in their sights, and star Kiwi sprinter Crocetti was the horse to take on that mission in the slot secured by Trackside NZ in partnership with Perth Racing.
A dual Group 1 winner in his homeland, the son of Zacinto stepped out for his Karaka-based trainers Danny Walker and Aaron Tata and had never been unplaced at the 1200m trip. With the unflappable Craig Williams to guide him from barrier 7 and coming off a nice little freshen up, the Kiwi had to be respected. Punters were feeling a little lukewarm about his chances, possibly because Crocetti hadn't yet won at WFA, though he had gone close and his NZ formlines had stacked up in Australia.
The state of NSW had deployed other weapons across the Nullabor besides Overpass.
Also attempting to deny the locals a first win in their hometown race were Matthew Smith's super genuine and much improved Headwall (Dream Ahead), lately G1 placed in both the Newmarket Hcp and the TJ Smith. Those were two booming runs and the hard fit Headwall partnered by Zac Lloyd was deserving of a change of fortune, and would probably get the last crack at them given his racing style.
From the stables of Goulburn-based Matthew Dale came Front Page, an 8yo son of the much-missed stallion Magnus, whose progeny are no strangers to big race success at Ascot.
Front Page like many by his sire, was not showing any sign of slowing down as the seasons went on, and was second up into the Quokka after a gallant second in the G1 Galaxy 1100m at Randwick to unbeaten colt Private Harry.
Drawn less than ideally outside Overpass, tactics were going to be crucial for the free rolling speedster, a proven weight carrier and two time winner at Randwick of the Everest's “little brother” the Kosciuskzo, for country trained gallopers.
A veritable Light Brigade of local horses were lining up to take on Overpass and Co and there were live hopes among them.
Leading the charge was Western Empire (Iffraaj) - a remarkable horse who had the class and stamina to win a Derby in his Classic year for master conditioners Grant and Alana Williams, but has since excelled at pretty much any distance he's been set for - whether under handicap or WFA conditions.
The G1 Railway Stakes winner was coming into the Quokka a fresh horse after showing he lacked nothing in the speed department when successfully kept to pure sprinting last prep.
Rope Them In (Playing God) had been one of the more fancied West Aussies to take Quokka glory until a last start effort in the Roma Cup which even trainer Steve Wolfe admitted was disappointing - but he had also gone on the record prior to that race saying the horse still had a lot of improvement to come and would be perfectly peaked on the big day.
Wolfe could make a case for his second runner Brave Spirit (Brave Smash) even if punters couldn't. Last season's Raconteur Stakes winner didn't have much go right for him in the spring but has a devastating turn of foot when on song.
Champion trainer Simon Miller was of the firm belief he had a dark horse in the race with his relatively untapped three year old West Star, another by WA's champion sire Playing God.
Interestingly, West Star is bred on the same Playing God / Real Jester cross as fellow Quokka contender Rope Them In, suggesting a breeding nick that could prove rewarding.
Miller trained Amelia's Jewel when she was runner up to Overpass in consecutive years and would dearly love to turn the tables on that rival, even as he houses “the Quokka king” at his own stables when he's in Perth.
Miller also saddled up the very good mare Generosity (Divine Prophet) who was a solid third in the Roma Cup after a freshen up, and the trainer expected big improvement from the four year old in by far her biggest test to date.
The two horses that duked out the Roma Cup finish in front of her had obvious claims.
They were the eventual winner (after a dead heat and successful protest ) The Boss Lady (Street Boss) - another 4yo mare progressing rapidly through the ranks for her Bunbury trainer Michael Lane - and Jokers Grin (Maschino), the kind of horse every hobby trainer dreams about, a ticket to partaking in those races that occupy racing's stratosphere.
In this case the hobby trainer was 77yo Bernie Miller and the gelding was one of only five in his lovingly tended string.
Losing the Roma Cup on protest only added to the eternal appeal of the underdog story embodied by Jokers Grin, bred by his trainer who had already tasted stakes success as a result of sending the dam to Maschino to produce the Group 3 winner Cup Night.
This time the result was a galloper who has been a revelation with six wins from nine starts, raced with a group of close connections.
Like The Boss Lady, Jokers Grin was going to need to go to a whole new level if he were to challenge horses like Overpass, but like her he had answered every question asked of him to date. Today the exciting gelding would carry the Ladbrokes silks.
With his trainer's best mate Patrick Carbery aboard, was the Joker the wild card in the Quokka pack?
There was a notable betting move on Saturday morning outside red hot favourite Overpass - The Boss Lady was attracting a steady stream of support having opened at $17 she was into $9,50 and the money kept coming. Headwall was rock solid at $6, while Front Page and Western Empire remained the only other runners under double figures.
By post time The Boss Lady had drifted out as fast as she'd come in and the eastern staters completely dominated the betting. Bjorn Baker was on hand to lead his champion onto the track in front of the huge buzzing crowd. Connections nerves were jangling in the packed mounting yard as the horses strode through their preliminaries, Overpass looking brilliant as he went to the gates.
With a sense of theatre the starter held them momentarily, then they were off - and Overpass came out like a shot, quickly crossing to the lead attended by Front Page. Behind them the field jostled for position, Crocetti caught wide, Magnificent Andy hugging the rail, The Boss Lady up there, Headwall going back as expected in company with Jokers Grin.
So they flew through the 600m, the 400m, and then suddenly the unthinkable - coming into the straight Overpass wobbled badly off his line, taking Front Page with him. Magnificent Andy saw clear room and tried to take it, The Boss Lady was calling it quits after a tough bumping duel with West Star, and Headwall was coming. Headwall unleashed his customary finishing burst and swept down the Ascot straight, looking every inch the winner as Overpass was clearly gone - but there was one last card to be played, and it was the Joker.
Jokers Grin and “Paddy” Carbery had followed Headwall every step of the way and now they were going to make a fight of it.
The big son of Maschino didn't just rise to his greatest challenge, he absolutely put paid to any doubt about his top liner status as he drove to the line to defeat the ever-gallant Headwall by a half head.
Generosity ran the race of her life to take third and Magnificent Andy held his spot for fourth.
There ensued amazing scenes as 77 year old Bernie Miller fought through the crowds to get out onto the track and bring his two best mates back to scale.
A sense of shock at this dethroning of the horse who had rightly earned the title “King if Ascot” mingled with delirious celebration of the hometown victory for one of racing's most loved characters in the west.
When he finally made it back to the enclosure Bernie Miller was typically laconic.
“I'll have a quiet beer,” said the old style horseman who gets up around 2am every morning to check on his charges, who has now trained 68 career winners.
“When I put him in his paddock after the Roma he ran around, he did a couple of laps and he just looked beautiful. I knew he was going to peak today, his work this week was off the charts. How bloody good is this, I can't really put it into words - it's a dream come true. ”
Patrick “Paddy” Carbery was ecstatic.
“That was just - he's still maturing this horse, his progression is amazing. He's a big horse and his work this week was just elite. I said to the owners, you love to watch him but what I can feel underneath me is just incredible,” he said.
“Bernie's my best mate and to be able to do this with someone you're that close to, and the whole team, they're all beautiful people. This is the pinnacle of my career.”
This was also a very special moment for Alwyn Park stud and their wonderful stallion Maschino.
The son of Encosta de Lago has always been a high quality sire but this season has catapulted him to another level. His daughter Machine Gun Gracie has been the acknowledged superstar of the Ascot carnival, now his son Jokers Grin had won Perth's richest race at only his tenth start, of which seven have yielded exceptional wins.
He has only been outside the top two once in his life, and the Quokka riches boost his career earnings to $2,406,255.
The best Maschinos are proving to have some special quality about them - they are big, immensely strong, but extraordinarily athletic and relaxed in nature. They seem to be doing amazing things on the track because it just comes so naturally to them.
Four year old Jokers Grin is out of the winning Barely A Moment mare Walk In Beauty and is a full brother to Group 3 winner Cup Night also bred and trained by Miller.
That horse was a multiple stakes winning sprinter and it seems the mating has been even more successful this time around.
The dam of Walk In Beauty was by the good broodmare sire Tale Of The Cat while her grand dam Bank Burst was a stakes winning daughter of the mighty Vain who became a prolific producer of durable sprinter milers.
This female line is of great and consistent quality going back to the remarkable mare Rainbird, winner of the 1945 Melbourne Cup.
Jokers Grin is bred 5f x 5f to Mr Prospector and 4m x 4f to Danehill.
His dam Walk In Beauty has visited Maschino six times. Her first by the sire was a 2014 filly named Infinite Beauty who retired a maiden.Cup Night was the second foal of that mating in 2015 and Jokers Grin the third in 2020.
She produced another filly by Maschino last spring and is back in foal to him again.
The mighty Maschino stands at Alwyn Park Stud in Serpentine and Jokers Grin brought up a winning treble for him at Ascot joining earlier winners Trio and Fine Touch.
