Deja vu for Overpass and Amelia’s Jewel in The Quokka
Saturday’s The Quokka (1200m) had a very similar feel to last year’s renewal, with the Bjorn Baker-trained Overpass (Vancouver) again overcoming local star Amelia’s Jewel (Siyouni) to record back-to-back victories in the valuable sprint.
Running for $5 million in prize-money this time around, up $1 million from 2023, the five-year-old son of Vancouver (Medaglia D’Oro) was again ridden by Josh Parr and stayed on strongly inside the final 100 metres to always hold the Simon Miller-trained runner-up, scoring by 0.9 lengths. Oscar’s Fortune (Rich Enuff) finished a further 0.2 lengths behind in third.
“I’m a purist of racing, I’m not going to say he’s a champion yet because we have to do a bit more in the Group 1s,” Baker said.
“But he is our champion. He’s Ram Racing’s champion. He’s Darby Racing’s champion and has been the stable stalwart.
“It was a great ride from Josh, he rode him like the best horse. He has as constant form as any sprinter in Australia.
“It’s not easy to win in Western Australia, where there are a lot of good trainers and jockeys. I just think I’ve got the right horse for the right time.
“This guy is a bit of a warrior. He never shows you that much, but when he gets into the thick of a fight, he just keeps giving. Wish I was as resilient as him.”
Saturday’s success takes Overpass’ record to eight wins and five placings from 26 starts, with over $7.7 million earned in prize-money.