FORMER Kiwi trainer Bjorn Baker is never afraid to travel his horses to where he thinks they can win, and that method paid off again on Friday when he trained a winning double at Mudgee, including the $50,000 Robert Oatley Vineyards Mudgee Cup Showcase Mudgee Cup (1600m) with Burning Energy.
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The Warwick Farm-based horseman has been a regular visitor to central west tracks in recent seasons and claimed his first feature when the four-year-old staved off a wall of challengers down the long stretches of the Mudgee home straight.
From the outside barrier in the 11-horse field, jockey Chad Lever elected to push forward on Burning Energy ($5.00 eq fav).
Despite sitting wide early, Lever eventually found the front and from that point the Bernadini (USA) x Anne Carina (NZ) gelding was able to settle into a rhythm.
Meanwhile the other major players in the market – Exemption ($5.00 eq fav, Rachael Murray), Can I Have ($6.00, Aaron Bullock) and Are You Sure ($9.00, Jay Ford) were all midfield or worse and strung up on the fence.
Rounding the turn, Burning Energy managed to burn off co-leader Any Blinkin’ Day before Can I Have emerged down the outside and Exemption found a run up the fence.
But neither runner looked likely to run down Burning Energy, which had a length to spare from Can I Have on the line, with Exemption a further length away in third.
Local hope Are You Sure ran on well from back in the field to be a close-up fourth.
The time for the race was 1:35.70.
Earlier Baker produced the well-bred Prince Of Thebes ($1.60 fav) to win the opening event, a maiden plate over the 1500m journey, by five lengths.
The double at Mudgee started a big couple of days for Baker, who also had success at Eagle Farm on Saturday.
Smart three-year-old Winning Rupert took the first step to earning a $500,000 bonus with a course record breaking return to racing.
He gave nothing else a chance beating Crack Me Up($11) by 5 3/4 lengths in the $100,000 QTIS Three Year old (1200m).
He clocked 1.9.42 which bettered the previous course record of 1.9.61.
See Page 19.
