RACING Baker’s dual Tiara assault
TRAINER Bjorn Baker is out to make the most of his hot winning streak with victory in the Tattersall’s Tiara at Doomben on Saturday.
Baker will saddle Bonny O’Reilly and Egyptian Symbol in the ( 1350m) Tiara, Australia’s last Group 1 race of the season.
Bonny O’Reilly has burst on to the scene over the past month and is now rated an $ 8.50 Tiara chance after her third in the Group 2 Dane Ripper Stakes ( 1350m) at Doomben last start on June 10.
“I thought it was a really good run. I probably overthought it a bit,” Baker said on Radio TAB’s Past the Post yesterday.
“I thought it was hard when you draw outside. I was a bit reluctant to push on and be outside the lead.
“( Noel) Callow got the ride late and he wanted to jump and be outside the leader but I thought we might get caught three deep.
“If I ( hadn’t) said that, she probably would have been a bit closer at the finish.”
The Warwick Farm trainer hopes Bonny O’Reilly, who had won at Rosehill ( twice) and Doomben before the Dane Ripper Stakes, will take further improvement from her first test in Group company.
Baker- trained runners have won 16 of their past 53 starts, capped by a Rosehill treble on Saturday.
He is eighth on the national premiership with 106 winners this season.
He will probably fall short of the 121 winners he trained last season but already his runners have won $ 400,000 more than they did last year.
Stradbroke Handicap runner- up In Her Time is the clear Tiara favourite at $ 3.60, just in front of last- start Doomben winners Miss Gunpowder and Prompt Response.
Egyptian Symbol is after running seventh Stradbroke, beaten lengths by Impending. at $ 11 in the three
NR