Latest news with #WinterbottomStakes
Sydney Morning Herald
25-04-2025
- Sport
- Sydney Morning Herald
Baker turns to twin Randwick hopes in chase for interstate treble
Warwick Farm trainer Bjorn Baker was looking to twin chances in the ninth race at Randwick as he chases success in three states on Saturday. Baker is in Perth overseeing the preparations of $2.05 (Sportsbet) favourite Overpass, which is hunting a third consecutive win in the $5 million The Quokka (1200m) at Ascot, where the six-year-old has also claimed the past two group 1 Winterbottom Stakes. Baker also has Imperial Force, another Darby Racing galloper, as the $3.20 favourite for the group 2 $250,000 Tobin Bronze Stakes (1200m) at Morphettville. Baker is sixth in the Australian premiership with 128 winners at a strike rate of 21.8 per cent – a figure better than trainers higher on the list – and is coming off breakthrough victories in the Doncaster Mile and Sydney Cup during the autumn carnival. He was confident frontrunner Overpass, which has to overcome barrier 10, was primed for the Quokka after a close second to Briasa when first up in the $3 million TJ Smith Stakes at Randwick three weeks ago. 'I think he's in tip-top order,' Baker said. 'The firm track suits at Ascot. We've had the same routine, so we are pretty happy with him.' Snitzel colt Imperial Force has gate one for his interstate assignment, which comes after finishing second in the group 2 Arrowfield Sprint at Randwick two weeks ago. 'He's coming off a good Arrowfield run, so I'm really happy with him,' Baker said. 'I think he can run a good race, and he'll be aided by a good gate. He's in good order.' Baker's in-form stable has six runners at Randwick, including Istolea Merc and Yankee One in the ninth, a benchmark 72 handicap (1400m).
The Age
25-04-2025
- Sport
- The Age
Baker turns to twin Randwick hopes in chase for interstate treble
Warwick Farm trainer Bjorn Baker was looking to twin chances in the ninth race at Randwick as he chases success in three states on Saturday. Baker is in Perth overseeing the preparations of $2.05 (Sportsbet) favourite Overpass, which is hunting a third consecutive win in the $5 million The Quokka (1200m) at Ascot, where the six-year-old has also claimed the past two group 1 Winterbottom Stakes. Baker also has Imperial Force, another Darby Racing galloper, as the $3.20 favourite for the group 2 $250,000 Tobin Bronze Stakes (1200m) at Morphettville. Baker is sixth in the Australian premiership with 128 winners at a strike rate of 21.8 per cent – a figure better than trainers higher on the list – and is coming off breakthrough victories in the Doncaster Mile and Sydney Cup during the autumn carnival. He was confident frontrunner Overpass, which has to overcome barrier 10, was primed for the Quokka after a close second to Briasa when first up in the $3 million TJ Smith Stakes at Randwick three weeks ago. 'I think he's in tip-top order,' Baker said. 'The firm track suits at Ascot. We've had the same routine, so we are pretty happy with him.' Snitzel colt Imperial Force has gate one for his interstate assignment, which comes after finishing second in the group 2 Arrowfield Sprint at Randwick two weeks ago. 'He's coming off a good Arrowfield run, so I'm really happy with him,' Baker said. 'I think he can run a good race, and he'll be aided by a good gate. He's in good order.' Baker's in-form stable has six runners at Randwick, including Istolea Merc and Yankee One in the ninth, a benchmark 72 handicap (1400m).
News.com.au
22-04-2025
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
Simon Miller ‘real chance' of toppling Quokka adversary Overpass with three-year-old West Star
Simon Miller quips he is so sick of the sight of Overpass he might put a rowdy horse in an adjacent stable box to keep the two-time The Quokka champion awake at night. Overpass, Bjorn Baker 's sprint star and king of the west, stays at Miller's stables when in Perth. • It has been a glittering formula for success for Baker who has claimed the first two editions of the Quokka with Overpass and is favoured to win a hat-trick of the rich slot race on Saturday. Meanwhile, champion Perth trainer Miller has twice finished second in The Quokka with Amelia's Jewel in 2023 and 2024. Miller thinks he has a good chance of turning the tables in Saturday's $5m race, deploying two horses including 'X-factor' three-year-old West Star who has a big boom on him. West Star has won four from six and was set to be deployed in Group 1 races during the Perth summer carnival, until Miller discovered the star youngster had an entrapped epiglottis after his win in the Listed Belgravia Stakes last October. West Star missed the summer but returned with a vengeance with a dominant win at Ascot earlier this month. Barrier draw done for the $5 million Quokka! Who wins? — TABtouch (@TAB_touch) April 22, 2025 With elite Sydney jockey Tim Clark booked to ride, Miller feels like West Star can give The Quokka a serious shake although conceding Overpass remains the horse they all have to beat. 'I should try to put my most unruly horse next to Overpass to try to keep him awake at night,' Miller joked. 'I do think that West Star is the X-factor horse of The Quokka. He's a machine. 'I was shattered when he had an entrapped epiglottis and I had to miss the whole summer carnival with him. 'I thought he was going to end up in a (Group 1) Winterbottom Stakes or even a (Group 1) Northerly Stakes. 'Looking forward to later in the year, I would say he is a perfect horse for the Golden Eagle in Sydney. 'This Saturday, Overpass is there again and maybe you could say it's his race to lose. 'But I am getting sick of running second to him and I do think I'm a real chance.' West Star drew gate nine at Tuesday's barrier draw. Overpass, aiming for his third Quokka, drew barrier 10 and fellow NSW visitors Front Page (11) and Headwall (8) also drew wide. 🌟 of the West … With 3 wins from 5 starts, West Star holds off the challenge of a fast finishing September Born to capture first stakes victory in the Listed McMahon Belgravia Stakes over 1200m at Ascot. By Darling View Thoroughbreds’ Playing God (as is September Born), West… — Aushorse (@Aushorse_TBA) October 26, 2024 • Broadsiding retired, stud fee announced for 2025 Miller said he is delighted to have the services of Clark on West Star. The two have remained firm friends and have talked regularly ever since Miller was an assistant trainer to John O'Shea and Clark was apprenticed to O'Shea. As for the strength of The Quokka this year, Miller feels it is maybe not quite as strong as the previous two editions. But he said it is hard to know in advance as a horse like Headwall, who finished third behind Briasa in the Group 1 TJ Smith, could be one out of the box. 'Historically you could say that The Quokka has been bigger and better than it is this year,' Miller said. 'But who is to say a horse like Headwall doesn't go right on with it after racing in The Quokka?' Miller also has four-year-old mare Generosity in The Quokka and said she will be a big improver after finishing third in the Roma Cup when a month between runs. 'She will beat at least half the field home in The Quokka,' Miller declared.
New Paper
21-04-2025
- Sport
- New Paper
Overpass eyeing third Quokka
PERTH One of racing's phenomena can add another chapter on April 26 as Overpass sets sights on a third win in as many editions of Western Australia's richest race, The Quokka. Four starts at Ascot have delivered two wins in the A$5 million (S$4.17 million) slot race feature over 1,200m and a pair of victories in the Group 1 Winterbottom Stakes (1,200m) for a perfectly rich record at the track. Sydney trainer Bjorn Baker has taken a slightly different approach this time, veering from starting in The Quokka first-up like he has over the past two years. This time round, the Vancouver six-year-old went in second-up after being collared on the line by Briasa in the Group 1 TJ Smith Stakes (1,200m) at Randwick on April 5. "I'm looking forward to getting back over there," said Baker, who made his way to Perth on April 21. "It has become my second home at the back end of autumn and summer. "Overpass travelled over really well and we've followed a similar routine over the last couple of years. "I don't think he overdid it in the TJ and he looks to have come through it pretty well. "If anything, he looks better and staying at Simon Miller's stable, everything is replicated to a degree." Perth has agreed with the gelding over the past couple of years. The New Zealand-born Baker, who has called Sydney home since 2011, identifies the dimensions of the Ascot circuit as something that has really suited the horse. "The great thing about him is that he has a high cruising speed, so he is able to jump and travel, and absorb pressure which he has done very well," said Baker, who is of Kiwi-Swede origin and is about to be naturalised Australian. "Even though he'd won two Quokkas and Winterbottoms, I thought his last Winterbottom win was amazing. "He had to absorb pressure the whole way and I thought we were in a lot of trouble at the 600 (metre mark). I thought, arguably, that was his best ever win." The 10-time winner and stakes earner in excess of A$10 million has been a solid main fancy throughout betting for The Quokka, a race named after a marsupial indigenous to Western Australia. "He definitely likes it over there and he has been a touch underrated even by myself and the team," said Baker. "I think if anything, often he looks really, really well come Winterbottom time, but last year I probably wasn't as happy as I have been. This time he looks better." Overpass is at 13-10 in all-in markets with the two other Sydney raiders, the Matthew Smith-trained Headwall and Matthew Dale-trained Front Page at 5-1 and 7-1 respectively. "You're always wary of who is in the field. Headwall is there and Front Page is a good horse who is up on speed, and then the locals, so we're not taking it for granted," he added. "But I think he is going well and he has been a dream horse." There will indeed be no shortage of local hopefuls who will try and stop Overpass from whisking the trophy away again. Leading the charge are 2024 Group 3 Gold Rush (1,400m) winner Western Empire, The Boss Lady and Jokers Grin, respective winner and runner-up of the Group 3 Roma Cup (1,100m) on April 12. There is also West Star, better remembered by Singapore racing fans as the smart winner of the Singapore Pools Trophy 2025 Handicap (1,200m) on April 5. SKY RACING WORLD
