Connections of Midnight Dynamite are keen to offer the horse an opportunity to compete for a $3 million prize purse following his dominant victory in the Winter Challenge at Rosehill.
This latest black-type success, following his win in the Listed Civic Stakes (1400m) last month, sets him on a path towards the Coffs Harbour Cup (1600m) on August 7. A win in that race would qualify him for the prestigious $3 million Big Dance (1600m) at Randwick, scheduled for Melbourne Cup Day.
“We’re mindful he’s had a long ‘prep’ so we’ll see how he comes through, but the initial plan is Coffs,” trainer Bjorn Baker’s racing manager, Luke Hilton, said.
“We’d like to get him into the Big Dance if he can run a mile which, off that, it looks like he might.
“He has come to a new level this preparation. Even looking at him, I still don’t think we’ve gotten to the bottom of him. He’s going to be a better horse next preparation.
“He’s one of those Bjorn has been patient with. He’s got better and better each preparation. He’s reaping the benefits now and more to come hopefully.”
The Winter Challenge (1500m) represented Midnight Dynamite’s ($3.20 fav) fourth win from six starts this campaign. The four-year-old colt had the race under control well before the finish line, justifying his favouritism according to leading betting apps Australia.
Responding to the solid tempo set by Whinchat, he accelerated powerfully halfway up the straight to defeat his rivals by three lengths. Just Folk ($14) finished second, with General Salute ($6) a further neck behind in third.
Hilton acknowledged that the stable harboured doubts about the horse’s condition after his placing in the recent Winter Stakes (1400m), but his midweek trackwork allayed those concerns.
“Bjorn was a little bit concerned that maybe he’d come to the end of it, but his work on Tuesday was fantastic. He’s just thriving, this horse,” Hilton said.
“It was hard to even get a little bit of a cheer up there because he had them shot to pieces very early. Tommy (Berry) rode him really well, put him to sleep, and he was able to quicken up really well.”
This victory in the Winter Challenge was Baker’s second in succession, having won the event last year with Robusto.
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