Royal Ascot one day, Royal Randwick the next.
Globetrotting trainer Bjorn Baker has capped a memorable week by taking out Saturday’s Listed Civic Stakes (1400m) with up-and-coming gelding Midnight Dynamite.
The victory came just days after Overpass finished a game third in the King Charles III Stakes at the famous English course in the early hours of Wednesday morning, Australia time, and a handful of hours before the top sprinter was due to back-up in the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes (1200m).
Baker was trackside at Royal Ascot for Overpass’s UK debut but left the horse in the capable hands of his racing manager Luke Hilton, arriving back in Sydney on Thursday night to oversee his team here.
“It was a great trip, and he ran so well, Overpass,” Baker said.
“We’ve got a pretty special horse here too in Midnight Dynamite. He is putting together a marvellous record for Darby Racing, and he was dominant today.”
Midnight Dynamite is building a prolific winning record with eight victories from 20 starts and three from four this campaign.
Baker admitted the horse’s continued improvement had caught the stable off guard, and he felt the four-year-old still hadn’t reached his ceiling.
“He’s been a horse who has surprised us, just how well he is going, and how he keeps improving,” he said.
“When he gets in better grade, if he ever hits a really wet track, he’s going to be very tough to beat.”
The Winter Stakes (1400m) at Rosehill on July 4 is the likely next option for Midnight Dynamite and like Baker, winning jockey Jason Collett expects the gelding to continue to rise through the ranks.
“He is only getting better,” Collett said.
“This preparation he has gone to another level so that says time is a good thing for him. He ticks a lot of boxes, and he’s going through the handicaps nicely.”
Midnight Dynamite ($2.60 fav) scored by 1-3/4 lengths over Whinchat ($19), who strung the field out and tried right to the line, with Cool Jakey ($5) another short neck away.
