Darwin-based Chloe Baxter started training horses just over 12 months ago, and she is looking forward to the two big races on Day 3 of the Darwin Cup Carnival at Fannie Bay.
On Wednesday, she will have runners appear in features for the first time when He’s The Ultimate runs in the $50,000 Bridge Toyota Cup (1600m) at 0-76 level and Swing With Junior lines up in the $35,000 Rose Bowl (1300m) for the fillies and mares in 0-70 grade.
He’s The Ultimate had three wins from 10 starts for Peter Moody in Victoria before having four starts for Sunshine Coast trainer David Vandyke, which included a win in a 1640m Class 3 race at Doomben in March.
The son of Fastnet Rock was a first-up fifth in Darwin behind Great Diviner over 1300m at 0-76 level on July 8.
“He’s the new fella, he’s going really well and doing everything right,” Baxter said.
“He’s a nice horse, a big solid thing, the aim is to try and get him into the Darwin Cup.
“He probably needs to win another one to get in, but we’ll just see how we go with him.
“I bought him on an Inglis online sale as I was on the hunt for something that could maybe go to the Cup.
“He was the only horse that we liked in that sale, so spent a little bit more than I normally would and got a great team of owners behind me to get him here.
“Yeah, he’s been a great purchase and obviously the dream is to get into the Cup.
“There’s plenty of nice races on Sprint and Cup Day for him, so we’ll just see how we go on Wednesday.
“See how he pulls up and everything, and then make a call.
“If he can bump up his rating of 73 up a little bit he should hopefully get a run in the Cup depending what’s around.”
A qualification process applies to get a start in the $200,000 Darwin Cup (2050m) on August 7, but an automatic berth is assured with victory in the NT Derby (2050m) and Buntine Handicap (2050m) on Saturday and the Metric Mile (1600m) on July 29.
Baxter secured Swing With Junior, a daughter of Warhorse, from Bendigo trainer Kym Hann after last year’s Darwin Cup Carnival.
“She’s been super and will actually be my first feature contender – she has been really consistent this preparation,” Baxter said.
“She’s had a couple of wins and a strong second against a nice horse in Great Diviner – just happy with how she’s travelling.
“I hope that she runs well, she’s drawn four, which is good, and there’s a bit of speed inside her as well.
“She just likes to get her own way a little bit and just be able to roll along, so hopefully she can finish off nicely.
“That 1100m last start (fifth) was probably just a little bit too sharp for her, so yeah, we’ll just see how she goes in what appears to be a handy Rose Bowl.”
It was June last year when Baxter started training fulltime after her first purchase, First Crusade, finished third over 1100m in 0-62 grade at Fannie Bay.
Next start, the three-year-old gelding was victorious against his own age group over 1100m in a BM66 on Day 2 of the 2022 Darwin Cup Carnival.
Baxter’s stable comprises six horses these days – First Crusade, Swing With Junior, To The Point, Del Viento, Aplomado and He’s The Ultimate – and from 43 starts she boasts a respectable record of 10 wins, six seconds and seven thirds.
The 31-year-old made it back-to-back wins on Day 2 of this year’s Darwin Cup Carnival when four-year-old gelding To The Point left it late before sneaking up along the rails to win by 0.2 lengths over 1300m in 0-66 grade on Saturday.
Darwin R1 replay – To The Point
Baxter, who worked with fellow Top End trainers Phil Cole, Garry Lefoe and Tayarn Halter before branching out on her own, has won nine races this season as she also juggles fulltime employment with a major betting agency.
And she agrees that the past year has been an unforgettable ride.
“It has been, yeah, it was a year ago on Saturday when I had my first win,” she said.
“It’s been really exciting to now build up from a team of one to a team of six.
“No regrets, not all, it’s been great and I should have started earlier.
“It was a nailbiter, but I was happy To The Point won to mark the anniversary.
“He’s been a very good horse for me and he certainly had to fight for it until the end.”
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