Outstanding sprinter Overpass – the new King of the West – kept his unbeaten record in feature WA races intact on Saturday with another scintillating performance to defend his title in the A$5m The Quokka at Ascot under a thrilled Josh Parr.
Champion Amelia’s Jewel had to settle for second.
The Quokka, run over 1200m, was back at Ascot Racecourse for its second year and was the headline event for the Autumn Racing Carnival, Western Australia’s richest raceday.
The Bjorn Baker-trained 5YO has ventured west to Perth three times in the past 12 months for three big-race wins – in last year’s inaugural running of The Quokka, then the Gr1 Winterbottom Stakes in December and now again this afternoon.
Just a $75,000 Easter Yearling Sale buy for Darby Racing and Will Johnson from the draft of his breeder Corumbene Stud, Overpass has now won more than A$8m prizemoney from his eight career wins.
Enjoy the replay:
Baker described Overpass, who ran in the Ram Racing slot in The Quokka, as “our champion’’.
“I’m a purist of racing so I’m not going to say he’s a champion, we’ve got to do a bit more with the Group 1s yet but he’s our champion, he’s Ram Racing’s champion, he’s Darby Racing’s champion, he’s been a stable stalwart, I love him,’’ the trainer said.
“You could argue he’s got as good consistent form as any sprinter in Australia and I think he’s proved that today. It’s not easy to win in Western Australia, I just think I’ve got the right horse for the right time because this horse is a bit of a warrior, he never shows you that much at home but when he gets into the thick of the fight, he just keeps giving.’’
The RAM Racing crew with their distinctive black cowboy hats were partying like there was no tomorrow as the slot holders did the business for the second year running.
Corumbene’s Anthony Altomonte added: “That was terrific, he’s such a good horse.
“I wasn’t sure he could do it twice in a row but he did it quite easily in the end.He’s now well and truly right up there with the likes of Sebring and Southern Legend as our highest earners and he’s certainly not finished yet.’’
