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By Ray Hickson

It’s horses like Our Anchorage that trainer Bjorn Baker credits for contributing to his stable’s run of success of late and he can only hope it continues at Rosehill on Saturday.

Trainer Bjorn Baker (Pic: Bradley Photos).

Baker notched his 50th winner for the season earlier this week when Don Pedro won at Warwick Farm but he said things will get harder with the carnival on the doorstep.

Our Anchorage chases his fourth straight win this preparation in the Group 3 $250,000 Parramatta Cup (1900m) and Baker says his purple patch of form, and that of others in the yard, is a testament to the perseverance of his staff.

“I’ve got a great team, an amazing bunch of clients and I’m very happy we can get a good return for them,’’ Baker said.

“As much as anything we’ve got a nice progressive bunch of horses and I guess one thing is they’re doing it at all age groups.

“We’ve had a few horses we’ve been very patient with like Don Pedro, Little Baia and Sweysive that have gone back to back.

“The last year or two there were a lot of questions whether we were doing the right thing keeping them but we’ve always thought they have a bit of ability and thankfully it’s come to fruition.”

The six-year-old import Our Anchorage came to Baker with one win on his record and he took more than a year and five starts before breaking through in a Class 1 at Hawkesbury last winter.

But with wins first-up at Kensington then at Randwick and Rosehill in the space of just over a month he’s emerged as a potential Sydney Cup contender.

“He’s a horse we really struggled to get the best out of last preparation,’’ Baker said.

“He’s a difficult horse on the ground and difficult to manage. We’ve changed things with how we’ve worked with him and Luke (Hilton) has been a massive part of that.

“It comes down to having a good team and being able to work together to get the best outcome.”

Ash Morgan rides Our Anchorage, $2.40 with TAB on Thursday, in the Parramatta Cup where he’ll drop 6.5kg on his runaway win over 2000m three weeks ago.

While he’s confident the horse is continuing to improve, Baker is wary there’s higher expectation on the horse in what should be a tougher race.

“I think he has earned it but in saying that it’s a tough race and were not getting ahead of ourselves,’’ he said.

“We’re under no illusion that he is short and he’s probably under the odds when you look at some of the other horses. But his racing pattern and fitness is probably why he’s there.

“He’s definitely leaner than he’s been, he’s a bit like his trainer we’ve really struggled to get weight off him and keep it off him.

“He is a horse I think will be even better once he gets beyond 2000m up to 2400m, he has a nomination for the Sydney Cup and that’s an option.”

Bonita Queen backs up from a creditable fourth in Group company last weekend and returns to her comfort zone in the Ranvet Handicap (1100m).

She has to cope with a 5kg rise in weights on that effort behind Inhibitions in the Triscay.

Baker expects her to be hard to beat, especially coming back from the 1200m, while he said stablemate Time Bandit may be saved for another race.

“I thought she was really good last week,’’ he said.

“She goes up significantly in weight but Ben Osmond does offset a bit of that.

“She’s got a good gate, rail out 5m at Rosehill so we won’t change anything.”

Our Anchorage wins at Rosehill on February 1

Bjorn Baker on Highlights (Race 9): “He’s going super, he’s got a good gate and we’ll be able to punch forward. He’s one of those horses that always puts the best hoof forward and he’s always under rated in the market. He’s back to 1400m and he’s rock hard fit so we’ll take advantage of his fitness, he’ll roll forward.”

On Wategoes (Race 9): “He performed well over the winter in stakes company. His first-up run was really good, it was on the short side for him, but 1400m suits him pretty good and he looks to get a nice run from the gate as well."

On Shezanalister (Race 10): “She’s one of my favourites, she’s in great order. She was really good first-up last preparation and she didn’t win again but she did run third in a Missile. She’s got a good gate and I think that’s the key with her. Jason (Collett) should be able to put her where she’s comfortable midfield.”

All the fields, form and replays for Saturday’s Rosehill meeting