“There is a race like The Coast for him next start, but getting to win $80,000 every Saturday is pretty good and something we don’t take for granted. He is a horse we know gets better with every run.”
Statistics prove Baker’s point, and history says Iknowastar will find his peak after two runs of his preparation. His record first up and second up is one win from eight starts, whereas he has won seven from nine as he goes deeper into his campaign.
“He was nearly gone from the stable because we thought he wasn’t going to measure up,” Baker admitted. “Then he came out and won the Dubbo Cup in track-record time and ran another record on the Kensington track over 1550m.
“He has a style of his own that he gets out and runs fast, and he has got better at holding on as he has got older.
“He didn’t get it right in the Big Dance, but when he does he is a very good horse. I think we are going to find how good in the next year or so.”
Meanwhile, Overpass will return from Perth next week and, like last year, will head back to Brisbane for the Doomben 10,000.
The stable star has won more than $5 million in the past 12 months, including two wins in the Quokka and a Winterbottom Stakes, to be the highest prizemoney winner ever in West Australia.
To put it into perspective, it’s more than Baker has earned in Sydney this season, where he has 35 wins to sit fifth in the trainers standings with more than $4.7 million in stakes.
“He loves it over in Perth and so do I,” Baker said. “He has got the job done there, and we will give him a similar campaign to last year.
“He will get home on Monday and he will head to Brisbane for one more run. It took Giga Kick to beat him last year in the 10,000, and I think he is going better.
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“We have looked after him, so every time he goes to the races he runs well.”
Overpass won the Quokka first up, which was only his fifth run since he won the first running of the Perth slot race. He would again be in line for another start in The Everest later in the year.
“I would like him to go into that race first up if possible, because it’s when he has raced best; we have learned that,” Baker said.
“There is still more to come from him because he has only had the 26 starts. We would love to get him back to Perth again.”
