Unencumbered is closing in on a meaningful prize money milestone with the promise of much bigger financial rewards ahead as the colt returns to racing at Rosehill on Saturday.
The Magic Millions winner will resume as one of the meeting’s best-backed runners in the Silver Slipper Stakes.
Unencumbered, Nathan Berry - Photo by Sharon Chapman
And while trainer Bjorn Baker is keen on the colt’s chances of making it six wins from seven starts, he is just as eager to push the horse’s credentials as a stallion prospect.
It’s the time of the season when precocious colts are racing’s hottest property and Baker insists Unencumbered can make himself even more marketable after the Silver Slipper.
Unencumbered’s sire Testa Rossa was one of the best two-year-olds of his year, racing seven times for five wins.
Testa Rossa’s appetite for a heavier than usual workload in his first season of racing has been passed on to Unencumbered who could be having his ninth start in the Golden Slipper if his autumn runs to schedule.
“He’s won a Group Three, he’s won the Magic Millions and he’s obviously got a great constitution,” Baker said.
“Really, he’s everything you would want in a stallion.
“But I guess on Saturday it’s a Group Two race in Sydney so it’s a big difference.”
Thanks mostly to his Magic Millions victory, Unencumbered has more than $1.7 million in stakes against his name.
But a significant autumn win could provide a tenfold boost to that figure.
“I won’t say he is the best horse I’ve had anything to do with because of It’s A Dundeel and he’s a different sort of horse. You can’t compare them,” Baker said.
“But he’s the best horse in terms of a sprinter and a two-year-old that I’ve dealt with.”
It’s A Dundeel, trained by Baker’s father Murray in New Zealand, stays with Baker at Warwick Farm when he races in Sydney and will stand at Arrowfield when his racing career ends.
Unencumbered has taken over as favourite from the unbeaten Law to win the Silver Slipper.”
