She has only been training for 13 months in the Top End, but Chloe Baxter will have a runner in the $200,000 Darwin Cup (2050m) on August 7.
Baxter sealed a berth in the NT’s biggest race after former Queensland galloper He’s The Ultimate ($16) produced an emphatic performance to steamroll his rivals in the $50,000 Metric Mile (1600m) at Fannie Bay on Saturday.
It is the 31-year-old’s biggest win.
With only 12 horses eligible to run in the Cup, He’s The Ultimate was sitting 13th in the order of entry based on ratings and had to win the Metric Mile to seal his ticket.
Success in the Darwin Carnival’s Day 5 feature means the four-year-old gelding will be on deck on Cup Day and the manner of victory suggests he is a serious contender.
Baxter purchased the son of Fastnet Rock via an Inglis on sale with the Darwin Cup in mind.
“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 and obviously the dream is to get into the Cup,” Baxter said recently.
Baxter, who has five horses in her stable following the recent retirement of Del Viento, has now won 11 races from 47 starts with He’s The Ultimate, To The Point, Swing With Junior, First Crusade, Aplomado and Del Viento posting at least one win.
He’s The Ultimate debuted in a $150,000 listed two-year-old race at Caulfield for Black Caviar’s trainer Peter Moody in April 2021 and finished second before winning his first race at his fourth start as a three-year-old in a 1200m maiden on Pakenham’s synthetic surface.
Two more wins on the Pakenham grass over 1200m (BM64) and Sale over 1423m (Class 2), as well as a second at Moonee Valley over 1200m (BM64), followed before the gelding headed to the stable of Sunshine Coast trainer David Vandyke after 10 Victorian starts.
In four starts in February and March, He’s The Ultimate managed a win at Doomben over 1640m (Class 3) and had three starts at Eagle Farm for a third over 1838m (Class 5), a fourth over 1400m (BM72) and a sixth over 1600m (BM72).
His arrival in the NT was inauspicious when fifth behind Great Diviner over 1300m (0-76) on July 8 on Day 1 of the Darwin Carnival before coming sixth behind Wolfburn, a genuine Darwin Cup hope, in the $50,000 Bridge Toyota Cup (1600m) on July 19 (Day 3).
Lumping 61kg and 60kg in his first two starts in the tropics, He’s The Ultimate carried 54kg on Saturday – although jumping from gate 10 in an 11-horse field was an obstacle.
It proved no burden with jockey Wayne Davis challenging for the lead before settling in second place outside Siakam ($9.50) after 400m once entering the back straight.
By the 1200m, He’s The Ultimate led and when passing the 900m he was two lengths clear of Siakam, Alice Springs raider That’s Justified ($13) – the 2021 Metric Mile winner, Ironedge ($5.50), Red Centre visitor Desert Lass ($16), Command King ($31) and 2021 NT Derby winner Sanblas ($2.20 fav).
With 400m to go approaching the final corner, That’s Justified, a clear second passing the 600m, was seemingly the only threat to the leader as the other five had to make up plenty of ground.
Kaonic ($9), fourth in the 2021 Darwin Cup before finishing second last year, started winding up from the rear down the side and was searching for a gap with 300m to go once straightening for home.
It would have been understandable had He’s The Ultimate tired, but with 200m to go he was three to four lengths clear and never in danger of defeat as the in-form Ironedge (Alice Lindsay) started to stretch out before finishing two and a half lengths away in second place.
That’s Justified (Stan Tsaikos) from the Terry Gillett stable was a further three lengths away in third place with Sanblas (Adam Nicholls) from Heather Lehmann’s Murray Bridge stable, who was forced four wide at the home turn, not far away in the fourth place.
It was no surprise to see Kaonic (Aaron Sweeney), representing Neil Dyer’s Kyneton stable, finish strongly for fifth, while Carrol Hunter’s Desert Lass (Casey Hunter), second in the Alice Springs Cup (2000m) in April, did little wrong before crossing the line in sixth place.
Ironedge was placed on three occasions from 1400-2000m during the Alice Springs Carnival in April for champion Darwin trainer Gary Clarke, but hasn’t missed a beat for Clarke’s daughter Ella since arriving in the Top End in May.
Before Saturday, he had five starts at Fannie Bay and finished in the top four each time – that includes a win over 1300m (BM76), a second in the Adelaide River Cup (1600m) and a fourth in the Bridge Toyota Cup.
The likes of Noir De Rue, Write Your Name, Wolfburn, Grandslam, Mohican Heights and Lake’s Folly await in the Darwin Cup, but He’s The Ultimate, Ironedge, That’s Justified, Sanblas and Kaonic certainly impressed on Saturday.
Davis, who might well partner He’s The Ultimate in the Cup, had every reason to celebrate as he missed the ride on the Phil Cole-trained Tubthumper, who won the Darwin Guineas with apprentice Emma Lines on board, through suspension.
29/7/23 Darwin Race 7 Replay – He’s The Ultimate (1st)
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