Warwick Farm trainer Bjorn Baker continued his recent love affair with Bathurst’s Tyers Park on Friday afternoon, opening the meet with two victories which extended his stunning run at the track to seven consecutive wins.
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He won the last five races on the program at the October 27 meeting, before Judge Judi and Tony’s Reward saluted in the first and second on Friday.
Baker had been confident Judge Judi would do so too, labelling the three-year-old filly his best bet for the afternoon.
Though the tiny field of four for the Thrifty Car and Truck Rental Fillies and Mares Plate (1,110 metres), Judge Judi’s rivals included Rugosa Rose ($2.60) from the powerhouse Randwick team of Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott.
In the end it came down to that pair, who staged an entertaining battle to the line.
Venezia jumped out to a one-and-a-half length lead over Rugosa Rose, while Judge Judi was settled a further two lengths back by jockey Greg Ryan.
With 300m to run Rugosa Rose tackled the early leader, but Judge Judi kicked down the outside to win by a head, the victory coming after a debut second at Nowra.
“It was very exciting. She’s still got a lot to learn and she’s still very green,” part-owner John Faulkner said.
“But it is nice to build up her confidence and hopefully there’s bigger and better things in the future.”
After Judge Judi’s win, Baker’s winning streak continued in the second thanks to Tony’s Reward ($1.20 favourite).
The run finally came to an end when $1.35 favourite Magic Missile was beaten in the third, it ran third behind Scott Singleton’s Caper ($6.50) and Ken Dunbar’s Attilius ($15).