Jon Snow wins BMW Australian Derby for champion New Zealand trainer Murray Baker
CHAMPION Kiwi trainer Murray Baker has claimed his fourth BMW Australian Derby with Jon Snow exacting revenge on his NZ counterpart Gingernuts in the Group 1 classic at Randwick.
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JON Snow, named after a character in the hit TV show Game Of Thrones, proved a star in his own right when he won a classic in every sense of the word at Royal Randwick yesterday.
This was a survival of the fittest as Jon Snow edged past Harper’s Choice to win a thrilling Group 1 $2 million BMW ATC Australian Derby (2400m).
Andrew Forsman, who has formed a training partnership with New Zealand maestro Murray Baker, had his first Australian Group 1 win - but only just.
“I thought he was going to win easy and I went the early crow,’’ Forsman said.
“But he had to really dig deep and fight hard – that’s what this horse does, he’s a tough stayer.’’
Jon Snow ($7.50) eventually got the better of a gritty Harper’s Choice ($26) to win the Derby by three-quarters of a length with Hardham ($31) a short head away third.
This was Baker’s fourth win in the ATC Australian Derby after previous successes with Nom Du Jeu (2008), It’s A Dundeel (2013) and Mongolian Khan (2015).
But Baker wasn’t in Sydney for his latest training coup, he left his new training partner, Forsman to take the limelight.
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“It’s a pleasure to be in partnership with a great trainer,’’ Forsman said.
“Murray’s a master and knows how to bring them over here and get the job done. He knows how to get them fit and ready and just glad we pulled it off.”
Jon Snow had finished third in the NZ Derby behind Gingernuts and Forsman admitted he did not think the colt could improve enough to win the Randwick classic.
“He had a long, campaign on hard tracks back home over summer,’’ Forsman said.
“But Murray felt the horse deserved his chance in Sydney and since he has been here, he has done nothing but improve.
“He won the Tulloch Stakes so well last week, he just bounced through the run and his work on Thursday morning was brilliant.
“He pulled up well. Everything has gone so well since he came over here. A big thank you to Bjorn and all the staff. They have done a great job looking after him.”
Forsman purchased the modestly-bred colt for just $65,000 as a yearling with yesterday’s Group 1 win, his third career success, taking the young stayer’s earnings to nearly $1.5 million prizemoney.
Another Kiwi wins the Australian Derby this time with the combination of Baker & Forsman with Jon Snow pic.twitter.com/BqRXE8Re38
— The Championships (@ChampionshipsRR) April 1, 2017
But who was the inspiration behind the colt’s name?
“I understand the horse’s breeder is a Game Of Thrones fan and she gave this colt the name Jon Snow as a foal,’’ Forsman said. “The owners liked it and stuck with the name.’’
Melbourne jockey Damian Lane made most of his good fortune to win the Derby on Jon Snow.
“I was lucky to get on him last week and happy to stick with him - he was too good,’’ Lane said.
“It’s a credit to the horse. When I switched him off he settled beautifully and when I switched him back on at the 600m he came up under me nicely.
“It was just perfect. It was almost a replica of last week. Jason Collett rated the leader perfectly and I was able to just sit a length off and when I switched him back on at the 600m he was all business from there.”
Forsman said Jon Snow will now be spell and set for the Caulfield Cup, a race trainer Gerald Ryan would like to aim Harper’s Choice, too.
“But we might go to the Epsom Handicap first,’’ Ryan said. “He has run super today.’’
Collett, rider of Harper’s Choice, went so close to finally winning his first Group 1 races.
“We lovely time in front, he had a soft lead with no pressure,’’ Collett said. “He was just out-toughed by the kiwi horse.’’
Tommy Berry, rider of Inference, believes his colt’s Rosehill Guineas third had an impact on his Derby hopes.
“To be honest, I think last start run gutted him. He put everything into that last run,’’ Berry sad.
“Today, he barely travelled which isn’t like him and when we got pushed out and decide to go he felt good until I let him right off the bridle. Then he was one paced.”
Opie Bosson, rider of Gingernuts, said it hard to make up ground.
“He got back, got a few bumps along the top which put him on the wrong leg and took the stuffing out of him a bit but he fought on okay,’’ Bosson said.
THE RESULT
AUSTRALIAN DERBY 2400m
1. $7.50 JON SNOW (Zane Partnership’s b c 3y Iffraaj (GB) - Orinda (NZ). Trainer: M Baker & A Forsman) 56.5 (Damian Lane)
2. $26.00 HARPER’S CHOICE 56.5 (J R Collett)
3. $31.00 HARDHAM 56.5 (L Nolen)
Then followed: 15.00 Ruthven 56.5 (M Zahra) 2.60 fav Gingernuts 56.5 (O P Bosson) 5.00 Inference 56.5 (Tommy Berry) 11.00 Prized Icon 56.5 (G Schofield) 101.00 Hollywood Mo 56.5 (Z Purton) 11.00 Anaheim 56.5 (J Bowman) 20.00 Impavido 56.5 (J Moreira) 15.00 So Si Bon 56.5 (K Mc Evoy) 201.00 Shine Tak Star 56.5 (B Avdulla) 151.00 Righteous Mate 56.5 (T Angland) last. All started. 3/4 len, sht hd. Time: 2:38.18. (Last 600m 37.50).
NSW TAB DIVS
Race 7: 4 9 6. Win $7.50 place $2.40 $8.50 $8.90. Q: $138.20. E: $208.00. Duets: 4-9: $39.40, 4-6: $35.60, 9-6: $153.80. T: $4,321.90. D: $79.60. First 4: 4-9-6-8: $53,864.50. Sub: NSR. All Started.
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