Bjorn Baker and Tyler Schiller have combined with Amor Victorious ($8.50) to claim victory in the Group 2 Shannon Stakes (1500m) at Rosehill on Saturday afternoon, stamping his authority for a possible tilt towards the Five Diamonds (1800m).
It was a front-running masterclass by Schiller taking all luck out of the equation, sliding forward to lead throughout from barrier five.
No one wanted to take on the son of Caravaggio for the early lead, allowing Schiller to dictate terms in the middle stages, and although there was some pressure by the Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott-trained Bases Loaded ($4.40), the five-year-old responded well under the urgings of Schiller.
Punch Lane ($15.00), New Endeavour ($26.00) and Osipenko were finishing off well, while the short-priced favourite Celestial Legend ($3.80) was a shade disappointing after missing the start.
2024 Group 2 Shannon Stakes Replay – Amor Victorious
It was all about the winner in the end, however, with Bjorn Baker confirming post-race that the Five Diamond would be the major spring target for Amor Victorious.
“It was a great win,” said Baker.
“Thanks to the owners, they’ve been really patient, Darby Racing of course. We like to put our horses up there and it worked out really well today.
“We’ve had a bit of a frustrating run, a lot of placings. Someone said it was an easy watch, I said ‘no it wasn’t, it’s a heck of a long straight’.
“His first two runs, he was up against some good horses and at the time he probably didn’t look as good as he can. I even debated whether we ran him today.
“I had a talk to Scott (Darby) and he was like ‘it’s up to you’. He was full of beans and we thought with the blinkers on that might just sharpen him up a bit.
“We’ve got some good races for him now, we’ve got the Five Diamonds Prelude maybe into the Five Diamonds. It was good to see him do that.”
Tyler Schiller confirmed post-race that the saddle shifted at the start, giving more credence to the victory.
“Straight out of the gates, I reckon (the saddle shifted),” said Schiller.
“He jumped really sharp, did everything right and pretty much I just rode to Bjorn’s instructions. I just quickened up from the 600 and try to get them chasing. He did a great job to tough it out and I thought he was very brave.
“I could just feel that the saddle was back further.
“I could still put my irons where I could. So I was comfortable but I was just happy that the horse underneath me kept travelling.
“I haven’t ridden for him for a while so it’s good to get a winner for Bjorn as well. The team is going great and they’re doing a great job.”
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