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Leading Sydney-based trainer Bjorn Baker has secured a quality Zoustar filly for A$220,000 from the Nolen Racing draft. The Group One-winning trainer is a regular buyer at the Australian yearling sales for many years.
Here Baker chats with The Impact about his purchases and his plans for the yearling sales season.
Q: Please tell us about the horse that you purchased this year at the GC 2YO Training Sale. What are your plans for this horse? Are they going directly into training or are they more classic type horses? Are these horses for yourself or for clients or to be syndicated? What races & for what distance do you think he is likely to do well?
A: I purchased this Zoustar filly with Jim Clarke who does a lot of work for me at the yearling sales. Jim’s clients, the Cunningham family and Neil Douglas have purchased a stud farm named Ridgmont in the Hunter Valley and are developing a group of nice broodmares and race fillies.
The pedigree of this filly appealed to them as a breeding prospect but hopefully, we can add some value to her on the racecourse beforehand. Zoustar is flying at the moment and the three damsires in her pedigree, Street Cry, Anabaa and Kenmare are some of the most proven in the world.
She is having a spell at Ridgmont until early in the new year and then she will come into the stable for her first preparation. I can see her developing into a lovely 3YO and think she will be at her best over 1400m to 1600m.
Q: Did you get a chance to sight the filly or did you watch the breeze-ups before the sale?
A: I relied on Jim Clarke’s opinion. He inspects a lot of horses on my behalf at each sale and puts forward a shortlist for my consideration. Regardless of the sale we go through them together in fine detail and decide on appropriate valuations.
In the case of this filly, I was able to watch her breeze from the comfort of my desk in Sydney as I was unable to attend the sale in QLD due to the covid restrictions.
Q: As a regular buyer at Australasian and international sales, what did you think of prices vs the quality of horse on offer?
A: There is no denying that the price of horses continues to climb but there is a good reason. We are racing for the best prizemoney in the world and every week there are more announcements of new races and new boosts to prizemoney. There is no better place in the world to own a racehorse at the moment. With respect to this particular sale, I thought it was a strong market given the border restrictions in place and the fact that many people weren’t able to physically attend.
Q: Please us about your history with Australian ready-to-run sales.
A: I have not bought a huge number of horses from this particular sale over the past. This filly would be the most expensive purchase from the Magic Millions 2YO In Training sale and indeed, any breeze-up sale that I have been involved in.
Q: Which yearling sales will you be preparing for and what is your plan/ process when you typically buy at these sales?
A: We are about to hit the sales season and it begins with a long week in the Hunter Valley inspecting the Magic Millions of yearlings on the farm. Jim and I work on this together and we have input from my stable vet, Allan Frogley. As we get deepe
Q: Which yearling sales will you be preparing for and what is your plan/ process when you typically buy at these sales?
A: We are about to hit the sales season and it begins with a long week in the Hunter Valley inspecting the Magic Millions of yearlings on the farm. Jim and I work on this together and we have input from my stable vet, Allan Frogley. As we get deeper into the year there is obviously the Inglis sale and the Karaka sales in New Zealand so it never stops. I rely heavily on Jim to see every horse on offer but we go through the shortlist for each sale together.
At the end of the season, the aim is to have a nice mix of colts and fillies from a variety of stallions. I also like to have a range of horses with different distance profiles from precocious two-year-olds to horses that will be at their best as 3YOs and older over middle and long distances.
We also need to cater for different price points for the stable so that all of my clients can be involved.
r into the year there is obviously the Inglis sale and the Karaka sales in New Zealand so it never stops. I rely heavily on Jim to see every horse on offer but we go through the shortlist for each sale together.
At the end of the season, the aim is to have a nice mix of colts and fillies from a variety of stallions. I also like to have a range of horses with different distance profiles from precocious two-year-olds to horses that will be at their best as 3YOs and older over middle and long distances.
We also need to cater for different price points for the stable so that all of my clients can be involved.