7 September 2008
Cambridge trainer Murray Baker now has two $1 million assignments on this season’s racing programme for outstanding three-year-old Fully Fledged.Baker, who trains in partnership with his son Bjorn, added a second $1 million race to Fully Fledged’s 3yo programme after witnessing the impressive manner in which he won his season-opener against the older horses over 1200m at Te Rapa last week.Ridden by Leith Innes, last season's Group 1 Ford Diamond Stakes winner settled just behind the pace and, seemingly only doing half-pace, levelled alongside leader El Cid with 350m to go before surging clear under a minimal amount of encouragement.Innes, who was amazed how quickly Fully Fledged had put a decisive margin on his rivals, said his mount had plenty in reserve at the finish of the race."I didn't really ask him for much of an effort," Innes said."He's going well and doing things right. He's a very exciting horse."Baker admitted the comprehensive nature of Fully Fledged’s win surprised him.“I was a bit surprised to see just how easily he won against the older horses because he wasn’t all that well off at the weights in that race,” Baker said.“It showed me he will be competitive in a race against the Telegraph Handicap against the open class sprinters,” Baker said.“He is definitely more mature this season and a lot better in the brain department,” Baker said.Baker’s more immediate $1 million target with the son of Align is the New Zealand Two Thousand Guineas (1600m) at Riccarton in November.“The Riccarton race will be his main target of his spring/early summer racing programme,” Baker said.Before that Fully Fledged will head to Hastings on September 20 for a three-year-old 1400m race and then return to the same track for the Group 2 $100,000 Hawke’s Bay Guineas (1400m) on October 4.Fully Fledged was the highest-rated male two-year-old on the New Zealand Free Handicaps for the 2007/08 racing season.He was the second consecutive Group 1 winning 2yo sired by Align in New Zealand in the past two seasons following on from Nightlign who had won the Group 1 Manawatu Sires’ Produce Stakes at Awapuni the previous season.
