A promising juvenile colt, Joint Venture, is now on a path towards early season three-year-old feature races after achieving a significant win at Rosehill.

Purchased for $625,000 as a yearling by the Newgate stallions syndicate, the finely bred son of I Am Invincible showed considerable improvement from his initial placing at Wyong, demonstrating his class in Saturday’s Kia Ora Bloodlines to Headlines Handicap (1200m).

Trainer Chris Waller noted that Joint Venture is still developing, but the victory as a two-year-old will be a valuable addition to his record and a strong foundation for potentially stepping up in grade.

“It’s also a good time of year to give a horse like him confidence,” Waller said. “You can see how much he does wrong at the start and in the straight. You can’t get confidence if they’re in a tough race doing things wrong, but at this time of year they can.”

Waller will monitor Joint Venture’s recovery from Saturday’s race but will not hesitate to challenge him against more experienced rivals in the coming weeks if the horse continues to impress.

“You can take on the better three-year-olds with a bit of fitness, and you can be competitive,” Waller stated. “We’d be pushing on, I’d say. He won’t get over too far (in journey), too quickly, but we will concentrate over the next few weeks on getting his ring craft right. If we get that right, there is a lot of improvement to come.”

Ridden by Sam Clipperton, Joint Venture ($8.50) saluted by three-quarters of a length from Gatineau ($6.50), who battled on well after leading, with Seeiaye ($2.30 favourite) holding on for third. Joint Venture returned $8.50 with leading betting apps Australia.