Without having to dig deep against Godolphin’s champion middle-distance stallion Anamoe, it was Arapaho who this time bossed his opposition in the Canberra Cup.
Rachel King rode the six-year-old gelding to a comfortable 1 ½-length victory in the Listed race over 2000m and worth $200,000, kicking clear at the turn for home.
Despite Bjorn Baker’s stayer finishing seventh in both the Chipping Norton Stakes and Apollo Stakes last month, he is certainly no slouch.
He was 4 ½ lengths and 2 ½ lengths behind James’ Cummings’ superstar on those respective occasions – certainly nothing to sneeze at.
Rachel King was once again his rider, and she knew in this company the $3.70 winning chance with the betting sites would be hard to beat, particularly once he got going with three furlongs to go.
“He gave me a lot of confidence from the 600 on. Well, the whole race,” she told Sky Racing.
“But definitely from that 600m onwards he was bolting in behind them.
“He hit the front and pricked his ears, and he just really toyed with them.
“He’s come back a bigger and stronger horse this prep.”
Despite lugging 59kg, King said the only way was up for Arapaho after his two starts at Group 1 and 2 level in February.
“He’s come back a bigger and stronger horse this prep,” she said, with her runner now boasting $966,000 in career prizemoney.
“He ran super in those two lead-up runs, and was beaten by some pretty handy horses.
“He definitely didn’t shirk the task in those strong races.
“We were confident he’d come here today and put in a strong performance.
“He’s not the biggest horse. He’s had to carry a big weight and do it the hard way.
“But I wish all horses had a heart like him because he’s super tough.”
Baker’s stable representative, Glen Lobb, said Arapaho has improved and become more versatile since his 2 ½-length Grafton Cup triumph on a Soft 5 last year.
“When he won the first race for us on a Heavy 10 at Rosehill, we thought he might’ve been just a wet-tracker,” he said.
“But he’s since proved that wrong. When he won the Grafton Cup it ended up firming up and we were a little bit worried that day.
“But now I think he goes on any surface.”
2023 Canberra Cup Race Replay – 13/3/23
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