MATES RACE
Friendship on hold as trainers battle for bragging rights
LEADING Sydney horseman Bjorn Baker and Gold Coast trainer Michael Costa are great mates, despite being near polar opposites.
Baker is a loud, extroverted Kiwi who stormed to the top of the NSW racing scene after walking away from a career in pharmacy in 2007.
Costa, 31, is a selfdescribed Greek-Australian introvert who settled on the Gold Coast after starting out as a junior steward in Sydney.
But today, their friendship will take a back seat when Baker’s Edison and
Costa’s Phobetor go head to head in a Magic Millions Rising Stars race at the Gold Coast.
“That’s where I met Bjorn, when I was training at Warwick Farm (in Sydney),” Costa said.
“Trainers watch their horses from different vantage points on the track and
Bjorn and I sat in the same tower.
“We’re at either ends of the spectrum in personalities; I’m quite an introvert and he’s very, very extroverted. But we share a joke and a laugh and that’s where it started.
“He’s probably a decade older than me but probably acts two decades younger – I wouldn’t say he’s the class clown but there’s never a dull moment.
“This is a highly competitive sport with a lot of pressure and it’s refreshing to ... find someone you can have a bit of a laugh with and not take it so seriously.”
Costa’s move to the Coast in 2016 couldn’t dull their friendship, with their families holidaying together at Noosa Heads whenever they can.
Their mateship has borne fruit on the track as well.
When Baker horses Egyptian Symbol and Redouble each won $1 million races at the 2019 Magic Millions, the New Zealand-born trainer praised Costa’s hosting of his horses at his private stables as a key factor in their success.
Baker’s horses have moved back in to Costa’s New Breed Racing stables ahead of the 2020 event but their enduring mateship will be tested in Race 8 at 5.25pm today as they battle for the $145,000 first prize.
“A healthy competition is always good,” Baker said.
“I’d much rather be rivals in the little races than the big ones but that’s all good.
“Really at the end of the day you want to see your own horse go well, for your clients and everything.
“If I don’t win then I hope he does.”