News

Bjorn again, winners just keep coming for Baker

14th Jan 2013

Sydney Morning Herald - Chris Roots - Monday, 14 January 2013

BJORN BAKER is part of the emerging generation of trainers in Sydney. Over the past 18 months he has established himself on the scene but is well aware his career is still evolving.

"I started from nothing and had 10 winners last season, and on Saturday I had my 20th for this season when Burbero won at Newcastle,'' Baker said. "It has been good, and I'm looking to continue it and get another 20 winners."

Baker has been able to win regularly on Sydney tracks, and his most successful performer for the season has been the stayer Cantonese, which has won six times.

"He has been a good horse for me but it doesn't mean much if you don't back it up with more winners," the 34-year-old said.

"That is why the quinella in the Inglis Nursery was so important. I have worked hard to find the right two-year-olds, and that shows I can do it with different sorts of horses.

"Financially, it makes a big difference winning those [races] worth a bit of money."

Twilight Royale beat Fuerza in last month's Inglis Nursery, earning Baker $200,000 in stakes, and he is keen to get a similar result in the Inglis Classic, restricted to two-year-olds sold at the Classic sale, at Rosehill on Saturday.

"Twilight Royale isn't eligible for the race but I will take two very strong hopes into it," Baker said. "Fuerza is the form horse going to Rosehill on what he did on debut in the Nursery. He is a very relaxed horse, so I'm going to put the blinkers on him. I will also have Awarewolf in the race, which won a Rosehill trial last week.

"He has had the two starts. He didn't do that much at Kembla on debut but should have won at Queanbeyan when run off the track. He went to the trials and won since and is learning all the time. He could be a smoky, and I have the blinkers on him as well."

Baker appreciates how important it is to get a two-year-old win for a new stable. He went to sales without the backing of the big stables but has chosen astutely. Fuerza was a $32,000 buy, Awarewolf cost $10,000, while Twilight Royale has turned a $45,000 investment at the Melbourne Premier sale into $166,000 in two starts.

"I knew I had to get the right horse at the sales and it looks like I have done all right," Baker said. "I started with nothing really when I got here and now I have 35 horses, and I have been able to attract a fair few owners."

Baker, who is a qualified pharmacist, arrived in Sydney after three years of training in partnership with his father, Murray.

He had travelled with derby winners Nom Du Jeu and Lion Tamer, and spent time with John Oxx in England and American trainer Christophe Clement. "It was time to come and try to be my own boss," Baker said. "I still have a lot of contact with dad but I'm out here by myself, making mistakes and learning from them. Fortunately, I have had a lot of support and I can go to sales and try and find the right horses.

"Sydney is a very competitive place to train, and if you don't get it right, you're not going to have success. I just want to keep going the way I'm going. I have 35 horses in the stables, which is a long way from where I started, and there are couple more nice ones there."

Meanwhile, South Australian trainer Jake Stephens has retired Alcopop after a tremendous spring, where he was runner-up in the Caulfield Cup, won the Mackinnon Stakes before running third in the Hong Kong International Cup - the final run of his career.