Darby Racing ready to cash in again with Robusto
The famous Ingham family sold the gelding for $160,000 at an online sale in September. Should Robusto win Saturday's feature Winter Challenge at Rosehill, his earnings for the new connections will pass $1.5 million.
If the sight of Robusto being chopped out at a vital stage of the race last start was not enough to convince punters to stick with him this weekend, Baker's glowing appraisal of his work this week should.
'He looks fantastic and his work on Tuesday morning was exceptional,' Baker said of the race favourite.
'Her worked over 1000m, but the way he finished off his work for Josh [Parr], he was very, very good late. If you go off that work alone, he's a very good chance.
'He also has a good gate on Saturday, and the 1500m is ideal. I think he's a big chance.
'He had a big weight last time, and the way he picked himself back up [after being blocked for a run], it shows you how well he is going.
'We do know he can continue to get better [the longer the preparation goes], so we'll look at the new season if he runs well.'
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The Advertiser
10 hours ago
- The Advertiser
'Dead flat': Newcastle surfers in tsunami alert area ahead of pro contest
Jackson Baker's thoughts quickly turned to the people of Hawaii when tsunami warnings were issued after the Russian earthquake, warnings which extended to America's west coast where he is waiting to compete in a professional surfing contest. Baker and fellow Novocastrians Ryan Callinan, Morgan Cibilic and Julian Wilson have spent this week waiting for some suitable surf to develop at Huntington Beach in California. The iconic break is hosting the third event of the Challenger Series, the World Surf League's second-tier series which surfers compete in to try and qualify for the following year's Championship Tour. The contest has had several lay days due to what Baker described as "pretty much dead flat" conditions, but took an interesting turn on Wednesday (AEST) when news of the earthquake prompted tsunami warnings across the Pacific. "Day one when I got here, which was a Friday, it was super fun, pretty standard Huntington. Literally since then it's become un-surfable," Baker said, speaking to the Newcastle Herald from America on Thursday (AEST). "I heard the tsunami warning but was never really super worried about it, knowing that Hawaii was in front of us and that was an area they were worried about. "[The earthquake] being in Russia and so far away from where we are ... there wasn't really alarms going off here like there was on the North Shore of Oahu [in Hawaii]. "It was pretty chill. The comp wrote in our group chat about it and kind of warned us, a few protocols, but nothing was ever too serious. "We were down there at 6am looking at the conditions early and everything seemed all good. It was never too much of a worry." At the end of another lay day when he spoke to the Herald, Baker was hopeful for better surf come Friday (AEST). The US Open of Surfing begins with a men's round of 80, which Wilson will start in, but Baker, Callinan and Cibilic begin in the round of 64. The Challenger Series (CS) began with Newcastle Surfest in June, and had its second stop in South Africa last month. After a round-of-64 exit in Newcastle and only advancing to the round of 32 at the Ballito Pro, Baker is ranked 42nd ahead of the Huntington contest. Callinan is ninth, Cibilic is 24th and Wilson, who missed the South African event, is 71st. Given this week's event is the third of seven CS contests, there remains plenty of time for Baker and his countrymen to improve their rankings as they chase a return to surfing's top tier. Only the top-10 ranked CS surfers qualify for next year's Championship Tour. "It's definitely not the start to the year that I would have wanted," Baker said. "You'd think having your first event in Newy, I would have much rather got a result like Ryan [second]. "But I'm super happy for Ryan, he is in a great position to get back on tour. For me, I just want to join him, so that fuels the fire to get on the horse and start to get some points. "This event hasn't really been the best one for me in years past, but I've been putting in the work. Everything feels good; the boards, my body feels 100 per cent, which it hasn't been before, so I'm definitely happy about that ... the only thing I can control in these small conditions is my head space and take it heat-by-heat. "To make some heats and gain some confidence would be amazing heading into an event that I really love over in Portugal and then into Brazil where I did well last year." Baker fell off the Championship Tour in mid-2023. Callinan dropped out mid-season this year. Cibilic hasn't been in the top tier since 2022, while Wilson is making a professional comeback after retiring in 2021. Jackson Baker's thoughts quickly turned to the people of Hawaii when tsunami warnings were issued after the Russian earthquake, warnings which extended to America's west coast where he is waiting to compete in a professional surfing contest. Baker and fellow Novocastrians Ryan Callinan, Morgan Cibilic and Julian Wilson have spent this week waiting for some suitable surf to develop at Huntington Beach in California. The iconic break is hosting the third event of the Challenger Series, the World Surf League's second-tier series which surfers compete in to try and qualify for the following year's Championship Tour. The contest has had several lay days due to what Baker described as "pretty much dead flat" conditions, but took an interesting turn on Wednesday (AEST) when news of the earthquake prompted tsunami warnings across the Pacific. "Day one when I got here, which was a Friday, it was super fun, pretty standard Huntington. Literally since then it's become un-surfable," Baker said, speaking to the Newcastle Herald from America on Thursday (AEST). "I heard the tsunami warning but was never really super worried about it, knowing that Hawaii was in front of us and that was an area they were worried about. "[The earthquake] being in Russia and so far away from where we are ... there wasn't really alarms going off here like there was on the North Shore of Oahu [in Hawaii]. "It was pretty chill. The comp wrote in our group chat about it and kind of warned us, a few protocols, but nothing was ever too serious. "We were down there at 6am looking at the conditions early and everything seemed all good. It was never too much of a worry." At the end of another lay day when he spoke to the Herald, Baker was hopeful for better surf come Friday (AEST). The US Open of Surfing begins with a men's round of 80, which Wilson will start in, but Baker, Callinan and Cibilic begin in the round of 64. The Challenger Series (CS) began with Newcastle Surfest in June, and had its second stop in South Africa last month. After a round-of-64 exit in Newcastle and only advancing to the round of 32 at the Ballito Pro, Baker is ranked 42nd ahead of the Huntington contest. Callinan is ninth, Cibilic is 24th and Wilson, who missed the South African event, is 71st. Given this week's event is the third of seven CS contests, there remains plenty of time for Baker and his countrymen to improve their rankings as they chase a return to surfing's top tier. Only the top-10 ranked CS surfers qualify for next year's Championship Tour. "It's definitely not the start to the year that I would have wanted," Baker said. "You'd think having your first event in Newy, I would have much rather got a result like Ryan [second]. "But I'm super happy for Ryan, he is in a great position to get back on tour. For me, I just want to join him, so that fuels the fire to get on the horse and start to get some points. "This event hasn't really been the best one for me in years past, but I've been putting in the work. Everything feels good; the boards, my body feels 100 per cent, which it hasn't been before, so I'm definitely happy about that ... the only thing I can control in these small conditions is my head space and take it heat-by-heat. "To make some heats and gain some confidence would be amazing heading into an event that I really love over in Portugal and then into Brazil where I did well last year." Baker fell off the Championship Tour in mid-2023. Callinan dropped out mid-season this year. Cibilic hasn't been in the top tier since 2022, while Wilson is making a professional comeback after retiring in 2021. Jackson Baker's thoughts quickly turned to the people of Hawaii when tsunami warnings were issued after the Russian earthquake, warnings which extended to America's west coast where he is waiting to compete in a professional surfing contest. Baker and fellow Novocastrians Ryan Callinan, Morgan Cibilic and Julian Wilson have spent this week waiting for some suitable surf to develop at Huntington Beach in California. The iconic break is hosting the third event of the Challenger Series, the World Surf League's second-tier series which surfers compete in to try and qualify for the following year's Championship Tour. The contest has had several lay days due to what Baker described as "pretty much dead flat" conditions, but took an interesting turn on Wednesday (AEST) when news of the earthquake prompted tsunami warnings across the Pacific. "Day one when I got here, which was a Friday, it was super fun, pretty standard Huntington. Literally since then it's become un-surfable," Baker said, speaking to the Newcastle Herald from America on Thursday (AEST). "I heard the tsunami warning but was never really super worried about it, knowing that Hawaii was in front of us and that was an area they were worried about. "[The earthquake] being in Russia and so far away from where we are ... there wasn't really alarms going off here like there was on the North Shore of Oahu [in Hawaii]. "It was pretty chill. The comp wrote in our group chat about it and kind of warned us, a few protocols, but nothing was ever too serious. "We were down there at 6am looking at the conditions early and everything seemed all good. It was never too much of a worry." At the end of another lay day when he spoke to the Herald, Baker was hopeful for better surf come Friday (AEST). The US Open of Surfing begins with a men's round of 80, which Wilson will start in, but Baker, Callinan and Cibilic begin in the round of 64. The Challenger Series (CS) began with Newcastle Surfest in June, and had its second stop in South Africa last month. After a round-of-64 exit in Newcastle and only advancing to the round of 32 at the Ballito Pro, Baker is ranked 42nd ahead of the Huntington contest. Callinan is ninth, Cibilic is 24th and Wilson, who missed the South African event, is 71st. Given this week's event is the third of seven CS contests, there remains plenty of time for Baker and his countrymen to improve their rankings as they chase a return to surfing's top tier. Only the top-10 ranked CS surfers qualify for next year's Championship Tour. "It's definitely not the start to the year that I would have wanted," Baker said. "You'd think having your first event in Newy, I would have much rather got a result like Ryan [second]. "But I'm super happy for Ryan, he is in a great position to get back on tour. For me, I just want to join him, so that fuels the fire to get on the horse and start to get some points. "This event hasn't really been the best one for me in years past, but I've been putting in the work. Everything feels good; the boards, my body feels 100 per cent, which it hasn't been before, so I'm definitely happy about that ... the only thing I can control in these small conditions is my head space and take it heat-by-heat. "To make some heats and gain some confidence would be amazing heading into an event that I really love over in Portugal and then into Brazil where I did well last year." Baker fell off the Championship Tour in mid-2023. Callinan dropped out mid-season this year. Cibilic hasn't been in the top tier since 2022, while Wilson is making a professional comeback after retiring in 2021. Jackson Baker's thoughts quickly turned to the people of Hawaii when tsunami warnings were issued after the Russian earthquake, warnings which extended to America's west coast where he is waiting to compete in a professional surfing contest. Baker and fellow Novocastrians Ryan Callinan, Morgan Cibilic and Julian Wilson have spent this week waiting for some suitable surf to develop at Huntington Beach in California. The iconic break is hosting the third event of the Challenger Series, the World Surf League's second-tier series which surfers compete in to try and qualify for the following year's Championship Tour. The contest has had several lay days due to what Baker described as "pretty much dead flat" conditions, but took an interesting turn on Wednesday (AEST) when news of the earthquake prompted tsunami warnings across the Pacific. "Day one when I got here, which was a Friday, it was super fun, pretty standard Huntington. Literally since then it's become un-surfable," Baker said, speaking to the Newcastle Herald from America on Thursday (AEST). "I heard the tsunami warning but was never really super worried about it, knowing that Hawaii was in front of us and that was an area they were worried about. "[The earthquake] being in Russia and so far away from where we are ... there wasn't really alarms going off here like there was on the North Shore of Oahu [in Hawaii]. "It was pretty chill. The comp wrote in our group chat about it and kind of warned us, a few protocols, but nothing was ever too serious. "We were down there at 6am looking at the conditions early and everything seemed all good. It was never too much of a worry." At the end of another lay day when he spoke to the Herald, Baker was hopeful for better surf come Friday (AEST). The US Open of Surfing begins with a men's round of 80, which Wilson will start in, but Baker, Callinan and Cibilic begin in the round of 64. The Challenger Series (CS) began with Newcastle Surfest in June, and had its second stop in South Africa last month. After a round-of-64 exit in Newcastle and only advancing to the round of 32 at the Ballito Pro, Baker is ranked 42nd ahead of the Huntington contest. Callinan is ninth, Cibilic is 24th and Wilson, who missed the South African event, is 71st. Given this week's event is the third of seven CS contests, there remains plenty of time for Baker and his countrymen to improve their rankings as they chase a return to surfing's top tier. Only the top-10 ranked CS surfers qualify for next year's Championship Tour. "It's definitely not the start to the year that I would have wanted," Baker said. "You'd think having your first event in Newy, I would have much rather got a result like Ryan [second]. "But I'm super happy for Ryan, he is in a great position to get back on tour. For me, I just want to join him, so that fuels the fire to get on the horse and start to get some points. "This event hasn't really been the best one for me in years past, but I've been putting in the work. Everything feels good; the boards, my body feels 100 per cent, which it hasn't been before, so I'm definitely happy about that ... the only thing I can control in these small conditions is my head space and take it heat-by-heat. "To make some heats and gain some confidence would be amazing heading into an event that I really love over in Portugal and then into Brazil where I did well last year." Baker fell off the Championship Tour in mid-2023. Callinan dropped out mid-season this year. Cibilic hasn't been in the top tier since 2022, while Wilson is making a professional comeback after retiring in 2021.
Courier-Mail
4 days ago
- Courier-Mail
'Bit of a feel about her': New level Within reach for Baker filly
Don't miss out on the headlines from Horse Racing. Followed categories will be added to My News. Trainer Bjorn Baker is quietly confident exciting filly Within The Law can go to another level in the spring as he sets his sights on the upcoming Princess Series. Within The Law is one of several spring contenders set to step out at Tuesday's barrier trials at Rosehill Gardens with the filly set to line up in a 900m heat. PUNT LIKE A PRO: Become a Racenet iQ member and get expert tips – with fully transparent return on investment statistics – from Racenet's team of professional punters at our Pro Tips section. SUBSCRIBE NOW! The daughter of Lucky Vega is on the third line of betting at $8 for the Group 1 Flight Stakes with Baker keen to follow the tried and true three-year-old fillies path through the spring, which kicks off with the Group 2 $300,000 Silver Shadow Stakes (1200m) on August 23. 'She is going super,' Baker said. 'We will go through the fillies series and I think she has come back a little bit bigger and stronger. 'You don't get carried away but she has the temperament and everything about her suggests maybe she can be a filly that can go on to that next level. 'With two-year-olds, it's always a bit of a question mark but I have a bit of a feel about her.' It was a remarkable two-year-old season for Within The Law that could have ended in disaster. She won the Group 2 Sweet Embrace Stakes before escaping serious injury when she went through the running rail and lost her rider in the Group 1 Golden Slipper. Within The Law was able to get back to the races to finish third in the Group 2 Percy Sykes Stakes and then came a close second to Nepotism in the Group 1 Champagne Stakes. 'She did a great job and is more of a raceday racehorse rather than a trackworker,' Baker said. 'From that point of view I think, she may be able to step up another level.' She won't be the only two-year-old stepping out on the morning with a plethora of youngsters lining up, including Skyhook, West Of Swindon, State Visit, Blitzburg, King Of Pop, Memo and North England. Baker also has last start Group 1 Sydney Cup winner Arapaho having his first trial over 1000m in a heat that also includes stablemate Perfumist. Group 1 performer Lindermann is among the Chris Waller-trained spring hopefuls set to step out while Canadian Group 1 winner Moira is in the same 900m heat. Waller will also saddle up his first trialist in the Godolphin royal blue with Commemorative in a 900m heat. Originally published as Bjorn Baker predicting big things for exciting filly Within The Law this spring
The Australian
23-07-2025
- The Australian
Canterbury preview: Trainer Bjorn Baker saddles Shalaa Gold
Trainer Bjorn Baker has had by far and away his greatest season and is keen to keep adding to it at Canterbury today as he eyes more milestones in 2025/26. Baker has so far this season prepared 155 winners, topping his previous best of 128, with his runners earning in excess of $25 million. 'It's been an amazing season. I have a great team, great clients and I have a lot of nice horses around me,' Baker said. 'As good as this season has been, I'm looking forward to next season as well.' • PUNT LIKE A PRO: Become a Racenet iQ member and get expert tips – with fully transparent return on investment statistics – from Racenet's team of professional punters at our Pro Tips section. SUBSCRIBE NOW! Baker is looking to get off to a quick start at Canterbury with Shalaa Gold and Olufsen kicking off their preparations in the Benchmark 64 TAB Handicap (1100m). Shalaa Gold was runner-up in his first four starts before a breakthrough win over 1100m at Warwick Farm in January. He showed he is on track to kick off his campaign on a positive note with two very good trials including a win over King Of Roseau in his Randwick heat on July 11. 'He's a promising horse. He did a good job to finally win a maiden last start after placing a number of times,' Baker said. 'He has trialled well and he is definitely forward enough so I think he's in there with a good chance. 'I'm also happy to see that the weather is pretty good this week so we will get a decent track for him.' • Via Sistina, Fangirl and other stars clear out cobwebs at Randwick trials Olufsen doesn't have the race experience of Shalaa Gold but showed he possessed plenty of ability with a debut win at Wyong in March. He has also trialled very well with a second to Mirra Impact in his Randwick trial on June 27 and a fourth to Amreekiyah in a Hawkesbury heat on July 7. 'He is a full brother to Ozzmosis,' he said. 'He was very good in winning at his first start. 'He is still a little bit green and putting it all together but he has been good in his couple of trials. 'There probably isn't much between these two and he has drawn a lovely gate as well. 'I guess Shalaa Gold will probably be a little more forward that Olufsen but it will come down to luck in running a little bit as well.' • Spirited vote sees Hale take reins of Australian Turf Club Baker has O'Invincible engaged at Canterbury and Wyong on Thursday and will weigh up the two options. The daughter of I Am Invincible is in the Broadsiding @ Darley Handicap (1250m) for which she has drawn barrier 13 while she has gate 7 in the Benchmark 64 at Wyong. 'She has got a wide gate but there is already three scratchings inside of her,' Baker said. 'We will just have a think about whether she runs or we wait for the next day.' O'Invincible was below her best first-up when a well beaten sixth to Livin' Thing at Randwick's Kensington track but better when just over a length behind Divine Vicky when sixth at Gosford. 'She was too bad to be true first-up and I think she may have had atrial fibrillation but she definitely had an excuse that day,' he said. 'She was okay last time out and she is definitely fit and well. I think stepping up to the 1250 metres suits her as well.' Baker felt Mortlake could run a cheeky race in the All Too Hard @ Vinery Stud Handicap (1550m). 'I thought he was good first-up and had excuses last time out on a very wet track at Rosehill. 'His work on Saturday was good and off that alone, I think he's got a good chance.'
