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| Staff Writer |
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With just two slot holders yet to confirm for The Everest it is no surprise to hear that two of the most high-profile owners have put their faith in top trainer Bjorn Baker who is understandably delighted to have two representatives in the race. This week Bon Ho confirmed that they have selected the four-year-old mare Shades Of Rose for the race to add to Overpass who will run for James Kennedy after he had secured a deal with the current owners. Both horses will have decent chances despite their current odds, but can they really take down Nature Strip? And who is Bjorn Baker?
Baker had started working in the field of pharmacy after gaining his degree, which gave him some knowledge of how business works, but his father, Murray Baker was a successful racehorse trainer in New Zealand, responsible for much big race wins when crossing into Australia, it was always possible that son Bjorn would follow suit. His father was successfully shipping horses into Australia and Bjorn agreed to handle them on arrival. Baker talks in glowing terms of his father and those early days, stating that his father’s skills were never really recognised in the early years in New Zealand and that he only really gained recognition when he started bringing decent horses to Australia.
Bjorn Baker started at Warwick Farm in 2011 with just two boxes and since then he has progressed rapidly to be in the wonderful position of preparing two horses for The Everest, a dream. He has done that in the face of some serious opposition from Australia’s top trainers Chris Waller, James Cummings, Peter Snowden, Gai Waterhouse, Ciaron Maher, and David Eustace, so it is a remarkable achievement that he attributes to hard work and the need to keep getting better to stay competitive with these legends. Now approaching 100 horses under his care, the day-to-day running of the stable requires patience, and a lot of that was learned from his father. Bjorn recalls that he wasn’t that interested in working with horses, but he was more interested in the breeding side, but as he began to work with the horses his father sent over and the more that stayed with him in Sydney, he got more and more involved in the day-to-day work with them.
By picking his father’s brain, he was able to take in a lot about how to run an equine business and added to that his desire to be the best, those attributes have surely contributed to his success. As Baker recounts, there are over forty trainers at Warwick Farm, and all train in slightly different ways and you can pick up bits and pieces from each operation. Add all that in together and with some ideas of your own and hard work and you have a recipe for success. Baker is clear that in this business you have to take risks and you have to get the right horses.
“In Sydney, the racing is non-stop week in and week out and is as competitive as anywhere else in the world. We can buy horses from all around the world, and we need to as you need the right horses to compete here. Essentially though, it is what works for you.”
He remains at Warwick Farm and his CV is now full of Group race winners including the Group 1 successful Samadoubt, Music Magnate, and Lion Tamer. So, what are the chances of his two Everest hopefuls?
Overpass is the more obvious pick as he has clearly been trained for this race whereas it feels to many like the mare Shades Of Rose is more of a “stumble on” selection for the race having improved quickly in her last four races. Once the decision had been made to rule out Classique Legend with an injury, Bon Ho was looking out for another sprinter to run in his slot so began negotiations with Baker. Talks went smoothly and despite Bon Ho being originally interested in Overpass, once he knew he was taken by James Kennedy, he turned his attention to the mare. Connections are adamant that Shades Of Rose is not there to make up the numbers and they believe she is ready to run a big race. She will do a barrier trial soon under new pilot Kerrin McEvoy.
Let’s look at her chances first, is she really up to this level? She is a prolific winner, seven from just nine starts so she knows how to get her head in front, and she is an out-and-out sprinter having run only at 1100 and 1200 metres. She is also not ground dependent with her wins coming on Heavy, Soft, and Good ground which is always the sign of a very good horse. She has risen rapidly through the ranks from maiden to handicaps and latterly a Group 2 at Rosehill where she ran out a narrow winner of the Sheraco Stakes. On current form, you could argue that she has very little chance of winning The Everest and it would be hard to disagree, however, she is still improving rapidly and may run a better race against her betters. As a lightly raced mare with prizemoney already in excess of AUD$445,000, she will not let connections down and reports suggest she has returned to training in better condition and is working better than ever. We know she is as tough as teak but being realistic, the more obvious conclusion to draw is that she will go well and learn from the experience and be an even better mare next season.
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Will Overpass be the better of the two on the day and does he have a real shout at beating the market principles? He is an entire and the same age as his stable companion, but he is more battle-hardened having run fifteen times winning five. He has competed in ten Group races, five at Group 1 level although he has only ever won at Group Two so although we know he is of the standard required, we would still have been guessing at his ability to beat the best except for his last run when finishing second to Nature Strip in The Shorts. We can assume he will go for The Premiere as his final trial and that brings a useful stat into the equation for the horse. He has won two out of three third up and The Everest would be his third race after a break. He is obviously the sort of horse that needs plenty of work and Baker knows him well enough and will be aware of that third-up trend and is more than capable of peaking him for the big day. Baker does have one major concern and that is the amount of rain that has fallen in Australia this season, he is sure that Overpass is better on top of the ground, and he will be keeping his fingers firmly crossed for decent weather.
Overpass will have his prep race for The Everest when he runs in the Group 2 Premiere Stakes at Randwick. Baker reports that Overpass has come on really well for his first run after a break behind Nature Strip, but this will be a tough test against other Everest hopefuls Masked Crusader, Lost And Running, and Mazu. He is well and raring to go, and he will be a very interesting contender on Everest day.