Jokers Wild returned to winning form in style on his home track when taking out the Fairview Ford Slipper at Matamata yesterday.
The speedy 2-year-old had been disappointing recently and trainers Mike Moroney and Andrew Scott decided to remove the blinkers before the $40,000 listed event.
Jokers Wild raced outsidethe front-running favourite Redbreb and showed plenty of determination to fight off the late finishing burst from Cadre Noir to win by a short neck.
A further 1 lengths away in third position was Habana.
Jokers Wild had looked promising in his first two starts, finishing second behind Don Garcia and then winning at Avondale but could only battle in his next three outings.
"The win here at Matamata was about guts because he raced on the speed and they were coming for him at the end, " said Scott.
"This horse can be a little tricky racing right-handed but I think the intention is to take him to Ellerslie for the [$150,000 Group One] Ford Diamond Stakes on March 11.
"He has looked a very exciting and promising 2-year-old right from the time he entered our stable but he had a rough patch of form.
"On Boxing Day at Ellerslie he just didn't handle racing in behind other horses and in his next start at Trentham he got into a speed war in front with Chant.
"We had no luck in the $500,000 2-year-old race at Te Rapa in his last start as he drew wide and raced three wide throughout."
Jokers Wild relaxed outside the leader throughout the running of the 1200m event and powered to the front quickly on the home turn, fighting off all challengers.
Cadre Noir recorded an eye-catching race debut performance storming home late to finish second and will be one runner to look out for over the upcoming Auckland Cup Carnival at Ellerslie.
