Ken Casellas | Photo: PACEPIX
Champion reinsman Chris Lewis wasn’t full of confidence when he went on to the track with My Ultimate Baxter to contest the 1730m Retravision Online Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night from the unfavourable barrier, out wide at No. 8.
And he was pleasantly surprised when My Ultimate Baxter, the $5.50 second fancy, overcame this disadvantage by working in the breeze and winning by a head from the $1.60 favourite Lamandier, who set the pace from barrier one and dashed over the final 800m in 56.6sec.
“I didn’t have heaps of confidence, drawn so wide in a sprint,” explained Lewis. “Initially, I hoped to come out and slot midfield. If we were farther back than that it was going to be hard.
“I was caught three deep early, so I had to pull back or progress forward. So, I decided to let him roll forward, and it all worked out. My confidence grew when he was relaxed and travelling nicely in the breeze. And he then finished nicely.”
My Ultimate Baxter took the lead about 60m from the post and won narrowly but convincingly.
The New Zealand-bred My Ultimate Baxter, prepared by Debra Lewis, has done all his racing in Australia. Six starts in Queensland produced five wins and a second placing, he had three starts in Victoria for one second, and he raced 11 times in New South Wales for four wins and two placings before coming to Western Australia where his 18 starts have resulted in four wins and two placings.
My Ultimate Baxter now has earned $121,850 from 13 wins and six placings from 38 starts, with the highlight of his career being his win in the Group 2 $50,000 Simpson Memorial at Menangle in January 2022.