When Tim Clark gives an indication that he intends to lead in the early stages of races, most rival riders think twice about taking him on. The noted front running jockey was “labelled urgent” when he came out of the gates on Overpass in Saturday’s Expressway Stakes. Hugh Bowman on Forbidden Love took one look and abandoned any plans he may have had to lead in the race. That’s not to say Overpass got an easy lead. The promising colt went right to the line to beat Forbidden Love and favourite Anamoe in a blistering 1.08.96 for the 1200m, with a fast 600m split of 33.8. Tim Clark said he’d never been on the colt’s back before, but was hugely impressed. “I only gained the ride because the 55kgs was a touch light for Josh Parr who’s done most of the work with Overpass,” said the in form jockey. “He’s got a magical temperament and a lovely action. It’s all ahead of him.”
The Gr 2 win came earlier than Bjorn Baker expected. He’s a trainer who likes to let his horses make their own way to stakes level, but a couple of top performances in the spring convinced him that Overpass was good and ready to tackle black type races from the get go in his current preparation. “Just go back to his fourth placing in the Roman Consul at Randwick,” said Baker. “He went back to near last from a wide draw and gave them a big start from the rise. He was storming home to finish less than two lengths from Paulele.”
“Not much went right in the Gr 1 Coolmore Stud Stakes but his run was very pleasing. He was being checked off heels at the 400m, and for a few strides was last of sixteen. He went past ten horses when switched to the extreme outside to finish sixth 4.4 lengths from Home Affairs who won by 3 lengths. He may have even grabbed third spot with the right run. It was the performance of a genuine Group horse, and my catalyst for running him in Saturday’s stakes race.”
The long striding Overpass (Tim Clark) wins the Gr. 2 Expressway Stakes on Saturday - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
Bjorn Baker missed the Rosehill meeting where the stable had seven runners. He opted to attend birthday celebrations for a close friend, but made sure he wasn’t too far away from a Sky Racing monitor. Bjorn’s reaction when watching his runners has become legendary and was to the fore again on Saturday. The phone camera coverage of his antics during the Expressway Stakes got a run on social media over the weekend. It’s unlikely his encouragement got Overpass over the wire, but it allowed him to let off steam and provided great entertainment for friends. He was equally animated when Rule Of Law completed a double for Baker Racing just over an hour later.
The astute Scott Darby, founder of the Darby Racing Syndication company was delighted to acquire Overpass for $75,000 at the Inglis Easter Sale Round 2 in 2020. The bloodstock company offered vendors and buyers a restricted catalogue of yearlings in July when the traditional Easter Sale was decimated by Covid earlier in the year. Vancouver, the sire of Overpass was still needing a headline act but Scott was rather taken by the female side of the colt’s pedigree. His dam Walkway who won two Victorian races for Leon Corstens is a daughter of the celebrated Exceed And Excel. The syndicator certainly wasn’t put off by the fact that the grand dam of Overpass, the Belloto mare Boardwalk Bell is a half sister to champion Northerly.
Bjorn began training in 2011 with just two horses. Last season he finished third on the Sydney metro trainer's premiership - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
Bjorn Baker’s association with Darby Racing has been a happy one since it began around eight years ago. Bjorn is one trainer who sees great benefit in getting his younger horses away from home early in their careers. The expatriate Kiwi horseman believes a few road trips and the experience of seeing different things can work wonders with green horses. Overpass ran second first up at Hawkesbury in April of last year and was then taken all the way to Orange to win his first race. Twelve days later he won again at Warwick Farm before notching the hat trick at Gosford.
The decision was made to head to Brisbane with the Vancouver colt for a two race foray. The first was the Gr 2 Sires Produce in which he finished a respectable fourth only three lengths behind the talented Converge. The second was the Gr 1 J.J. Atkins which turned out to be one bridge too far. Displaying the signs of a colt who’d come to the end of his tether, Overpass pulled hard and was suffering a bout of the “thumps” when he returned to the enclosure. The paddock beckoned.
Saturday’s Gr 2 win at just his tenth start augurs well for Overpass who has some rich autumn options in front of him. Bjorn Baker hasn’t officially locked in his programme to date, but admits the Newmarket is high on his list of priorities. “Three year olds have an enormous record in the Newmarket, and he proved last November that the straight 1200m at Flemington presents no difficulty for him,” said Bjorn. “He’s a beautifully actioned horse with a huge stride who’ll be advantaged by that unique course.”
It’s just possible that Bjorn will have two Darby Racing sprinters in Melbourne at the same time. Already locked in to an Oakleigh Plate assignment is the eminently talented Malkovich, a year older than Overpass and already the winner of six races. Bjorn made a sudden decision to “slip” him to Melbourne last June for a 3YO race at Caulfield. Despite an impost of 61kgs the son of Choisir won easily with Damian Lane in the saddle. His subsequent form was enormously consistent - placings in three Melbourne stakes races and a close second to Eleven Eleven in The Warra at Kembla Grange before heading to the paddock.
Malkovich has won six races to date including this one at Randwick 09/01/2021. Jason Collett is the jockey - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
To have a runner in the two historic Melbourne sprints would be a source of great excitement for Darby Racing and for the huge syndicates who race the horses. The presence of these two fine sprinters will bring some consolation to Darby Racing syndicate members who own a piece of popular stayer Harpo Marx. Purchased in England, Harpo Marx took forever to get his act together in Australia, but gradually raced his way into some pretty serious form. His six wins include the Gr 3 Premiers Cup which was followed by a strong third in the Gr 1 Metropolitan behind Montefilia. He was taken straight to Melbourne where a tendon issue put him out of the Moonee Valley Cup and into the spelling paddock for an extended period.
Another Baker trained Darby Racing colour bearer is Canasta who was also purchased at the Tattersall’s Sale in England. The 6YO has given his army of syndicate members many a thrill in posting 5 wins and a whopping 13 placings for $368,000. Irithea was another multiple winner for the Baker-Darby Racing combination. The speedy Snitzel mare won 8 races including The Dark Jewel at Scone and the Hawkesbury Crown, both at Gr 3 level.
Unequivocally the best Baker trained horse to carry the distinctive Darby colours was Samadoubt whose career was terminated almost a year ago by serious tendon issues. The free striding son of Not A Single Doubt won 10 races for his army of owners including the Gr 1 Winx Stakes, the Gr 2 Chelmsford Stakes and a listed Canberra Cup. The gelding also posted 10 minor placings which contributed to his impressive haul of $1,073,000 in prize money.
Samadoubt ran the opposition ragged to win the Gr. 1 Winx Stakes 2019 for the Baker - Darby Racing combination - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
It’s hard to believe a decade has passed since young Bjorn Baker began his solo training career at Warwick Farm with just two horses. His first win came with a $6000 second hand gelding called Sky Gaze who scrambled home in a 2000m race at Bathurst. Taking on the might of Sydney’s training ranks was a pretty brave venture by a young man whose previous professional pursuit had been in the pharmaceutical field. A four year stint in a training partnership with his father Murray Baker, fuelled his ambition to train horses professionally. A taste of Gr 1 success with We Can Say It Now, Lion Tamer and Harris Tweed added to the appeal.
Perhaps Bjorn Baker’s emergence in one of the world’s toughest racing towns hasn’t been acknowledged generously enough. Since August 1st 2015 he’s trained 737 winners on NSW tracks including 61 in this current season. A Doomben $10,000 with Music Magnate and a Magic Millions 2YO Classic with Unencumbered have put him in the spotlight at the elite level. His presence on the Sydney metropolitan premiership over the last two full seasons has flown a little under the radar. In the 2019/2020 year he finished fourth behind the predictable “big guns” with 56 winners. Last season he and James Cummings came into the final day locked together for second spot. A winning double for Godolphin enabled them to relegate Bjorn to third place with a massively impressive 59 wins.
With 98 horses in work last season’s figures are very achievable again. Two horses who probably won’t get the opportunity to contribute significant wins to the stable’s Sydney tally are the “Darby Duo” of Overpass and Malkovich. Mind you Bjorn won’t mind a bit should either or both grab a slice of Gr 1 glory in historic gems like the Oakleigh Plate and the Newmarket Hcp.
Another one for Darby Racing! Irithea (Jean Van Overmeire) wins brilliantly at Rosehill 08/12/2018 - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
(Banner image - Overpass went right to the line in defeating Forbidden Love and Anamoe in the Expressway - courtesy Bradley Photographers.)