Bjorn Baker is set to give some of his key spring hopefuls a solid hit-out at the Rosehill barrier trials on Friday, while several of his up-and-coming horses will be given their chance to impress on race day the following afternoon.
Leading the charge will be Sydney Cup hero Arapaho, who is scheduled to contest a 1000m trial before resuming in the Group 1 Winx Stakes (1400m) on Saturday week. The nine-year-old is on a path towards both the Caulfield Cup and Melbourne Cup, and Baker’s racing manager Luke Hilton says the veteran still has the zest for competition.
“He doesn’t look nine at home,” Hilton said. “He is European bred in terms of his age which helps. He looks great. He is very bright within himself and he’s in really good order.”
Joining him in the same heat will be classy filly Within The Law, who is on track to begin her spring campaign in the Silver Shadow Stakes (1200m) on the Winx Stakes undercard.
On Saturday at Rosehill, Baker will saddle up 11 runners across six events, including Perfumist, who resumes in the Petaluma Handicap (1200m). The mare boasts close to a 50 per cent winning strike rate and was taken to the races a fortnight ago for a non-competitive hit-out to settle her into the new campaign.
“She is a little bit highly strung so we wanted to give her a race day experience without racing,” Hilton said. “We’ve had a lot of success with it and we do it a lot with our horses. We actually had Within The Law (at the Randwick Kensington meeting on Wednesday) and it seems to work. They come here and they have a good experience. They haven’t been put under any pressure and when they come again, it’s not unfamiliar territory.”
Hilton is also expecting improvement from Puntin in the Precise Air Handicap (1400m), after the gelding failed to fire when favourite over 1800m at Randwick last start. Dropping back 400m in trip, Hilton believes the distance change will be in his favour, provided track conditions improve from Rosehill’s heavy 9 rating on Thursday.
“He may not have handled the 1800 on a really heavy track,” Hilton said. “I think he wants an improving track so hopefully there’s no more rain.”
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