Burbero registers breath-taking Gr.2 Ajax win

Never further back than second in his past eight starts the durable Burbero (O’Reilly)backed up from his narrow defeat in the Canberra Cup to earn his first stakes win in last Saturday’s Group II Ajax Stakes (1500m) at Rosehill Gardens.

Trainer Bjorn Baker kept faith with 3kg claim apprentice Brodie Loy who repaid that confidence with a copybook ride. Making his run hard against the rails, Burbero defeated Ninth Legion (Fastnet Rock) by a half-head with San Diego (Exceed And Excel) a half-neck back in third.(photos Lisa Grimm).

“It was a fantastic ride, he rode him perfectly,” Baker said.

“Brodie is our neighbor. He is apprenticed to David Pfeiffer so we see him every morning. He does a lot of work on our horses. You have to reward young guys and this is a big break for him.”

Loy reveled in his first stakes win

“It’s an unbelievable feeling,” Loy said.

“It’s a dream come true.

“The key with him is just to let him be where he wants to be.

“Ride him confidently and you know things are going well when he tows you into the race, and he did that today.”

Burbero is a homebred for Scott Richardson who was on hand to see his gelding win for the first time.

“He’s never seen him win,” Baker revealed.

“Every time he comes over he runs second or third. So he’s actually seen him win for the first time ever which is great.”

A 6yo son of Waikato Stud’s recently deceased stallion O’Reilly, Burbero takes his overall record to 12 wins, 6 seconds and 3 thirds from 35 starts for earnings of $570,375.

A son of the winning Royal Academy mare Royal Remedy, Burbero descends from the family of Lloyd Forster’s talented imported mare Gypsy Moss (Mossborough) a Listed winner in Brisbane and second behind Divide And Rule in the 1970 Stradbroke Handicap.

Gypsy Moss (IRE) is the dam of Group 1 Queensland Derby winner Our Planet and the Group II Warwick Stakes winner and successful stallion Gypsy Kingdom, as well as Ideal Image the dam of Group 1 Doomben 10,000 winner Ideal Planet and the great granddam of Burbero.