Winterbottom Stakes (Group 1)

THE Bjorn Baker-trained Overpass has preserved his unbeaten record at Ascot in Perth, completing back-to-back Group 1 Winterbottom Stakes victories on Saturday. Leading the 16-horse field around the final bend of the 1,200m dash, none could make any serious inroads to the Vancouver gelding’s advantage as Josh Parr kept Overpass focused, winning by a length on the line.

Second was the Victorian visitor, the Pride Of Dubai gelding Maharba, with the locally trained West Australian, Hot Zed by Red Hot Choice claiming third.

“That was a gutsy win. He had to absorb a heap of pressure early and I was very worried after 200 metres at how it was unfolding,” said Baker of Overpass, jumping from the widest barrier and forced to race wide throughout.

“I thought he was super, super brave. I don’t know if we can call him a champion, but he’s getting very close. Massive shout out to Darby Racing, they’re my biggest supporters. We’ve had a great day, one of the special days in racing.”

The win, Overpass’ 10th in 29 starts, lifts his earnings to just over A$9.75 million, $5.7 million of which has come from his four wins at Ascot, which also includes the past two editions of $5 million Quokka, also over 1,200 metres.

The six-year-old was bought at the 2020 Easter Yearling Sale by Darby Racing and Will Johnson Bloodstock for just $75,000 making him one of 45 individual Group 1 winners, since 2018, to have been purchased from an Inglis sale for $100,000 or less.

THE final feature race meeting of the Melbourne spring was held at Caulfield on Saturday.

Headlined by the Group 2 Zipping Classic over 2,400 metres, the French-bred Arapaho provided the first leg of an interstate group double for the Bjorn Baker stable.

Without a win since saluting in the Group 1 Tancred Stakes in March 2023, the Lope De Vega gelding found the rail three pairs back in the 11-horse field, as the Queen Elizabeth Stakes winner Smokin Romans controlled the race.

Rolling three-wide on the final bend, Rachel King had Arapaho into clear air as Smokin Romans led. The pair matched motors from the 200m mark, clearing out from the remainder.

Ever so slightly, Arapaho got the advantage to prevail by a half-length on the line over the Ghibellines gelding, the pair five lengths ahead of the third placed Territories gelding Berkeley Square.

“He put the writing on the wall a couple of starts ago, he backed it up again in the Champions Stakes, and then he’s just franked it today,” said stable foreman Luke Hilton.

“After his work on Tuesday, Bjorn said to me, ‘I’ve never ever had a stayer, or him, work like he did on Tuesday’. So, we came full of confidence, the track was obviously a little bit of a question mark – he has won on heavy before – but it was a really good result and he’s back. It was a fantastic ride.

“She (Rachel King) loves this horse, she knows him so well, she knows him inside out and that was just an outstanding win. He’s a special horse for the team, it’s taken a long time to get him back.”

Purchased from the 2020 Arqana Autumn Sale for €140,000, Arapaho improves his record to six wins from 32 Australian starts, for earnings of just over A$2.42 million.

THE 2022 Irish 2000 Guineas runner-up New Energy, formerly trained by Sheila Lavery, won his first race in Australia at his eighth attempt, saluting in the Group 3 Eclipse Stakes over 1,800 metres at Caulfield on Saturday.

Now trained by Ciaron Maher, the New Bay gelding needed to take a narrow gap 50 metres from the line, the move costing jockey Mark Zahara a suspension, but securing the win in the final strides as New Energy lunged for the line to win by a head.

“He’s been running really well in some of the big races in Sydney and Melbourne and I think he can really go on from that,” said Maher. “That bit of confidence he’ll get out of that win will do him the world of good. He’s a horse that promised a lot. We gelded him while he was in the UK, because he was fairly unruly, and it’s just taken him a while to settle into the routine.”

At Rosehill, there was a listed race success for jockey Thomas Sherry in the Toyota Forklifts Starlight Stakes sprint. Outsider Eagle Nest came through to win by a length and a half for trainers Gerald Ryan and Sterling Alexiou.

New Zealand

THE former James Stack-trained Meaningful Star made it two wins from three starts in New Zealand in Saturday’s Group 3 Challenge Stakes at Ellerslie over 1,600m.

A winner of four in Hong Kong before making his way to the stables of Bruce Wallace and Grant Cooksley, the Irish-bred Pivotal gelding won by a short-neck over the 2020 New Zealand 2000 Guineas winner Aegon.

“He ran really well first up, won well the other day and has done it again,” said jockey Michael McNab.

“He’s got good form up to Class 2 in Hong Kong and he is going from strength to strength here, which is very encouraging. I think 2,000 metres will be ideal for him, as he is European-bred, so the further the better.”

Trainer Grant Cooksley suggested the Group 1 Zabeel Stakes over 2,000 metres on St Stephen’s Day at Ellerslie will be the likely target for Meaningful Star.