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By Ray Hickson

There’s every chance trainer Bjorn Baker will fast track the rise of lightly raced gelding Monte Veebee if he takes a class rise in his stride at Randwick on Saturday.

Trainer Bjorn Baker (Pic: Steve Hart)

The four-year-old came to Baker from the Robert & Luke Price stable on the back of a six length maiden win and wasted no time making another statement with a runaway victory at Newcastle two weeks ago.

Monte Veebee was a $900,000 yearling and has always shown promise and Baker said the Inglis Classic Yearling Sale Handicap (1200m) will tell him a lot about what may lie ahead.

“We’ll try to get him into that Saturday grade first and after there you never quite know,’’ he said.

“You never get carried away and we are throwing him in the deep end but he gets in with a good weight, he has a race under his belt, and I’m confident he’ll run well.”

The intention was to resume Monte Veebee, $2.60 with TAB on Thursday, at the Gosford meeting three weeks back but the bulk of that program was lost due to heavy rain.

When he stepped out a week later a little further up the coast he turned a Benchmark 68 into a one-act affair leading throughout to a 4-1/4 length win.

The gelding is owned in similar interests to Monte Supreme, who charged through the grades winning three races on end for Baker in the spring before placing in the Group 3 Nivison and contesting The Invitation.

“He’s already a well performed horse, he won well first-up, he’s got a good gate and no doubt it’s a competitive race but he does look to us to have plenty of upside,’’ Baker said.

“He’s a very nice horse, he’s a readymade horse and I was lucky enough to get him to train. He was very good first-up at Newcastle.”

An outside barrier didn’t help Baker’s charge in last year’s $2m Inglis Millennium (1100m), when Within The Law ran a late finishing second, so he’s pleased to have pole position for Profitabelle in the 2026 renewal.

Baker was sweating on a run with the filly, who was made second emergency after her third placing on debut last month, and gained the call up after the scratchings of Sheza Boom and Persian Wonder.

It’s been five weeks since her debut behind Knightsbridge and Baker said the Millennium presents a completely different scenario for her with barrier one.

“She jumped better in her last trial, Regan (Bayliss) knows her well and gate one is always the quickest way home,’’ Baker said.

“Her first run was very good where we did draw wide and had to get back further than envisaged.

“She’s a high class quality filly with a big frame. It’s definitely not straightforward, it’s a tough race, but she’s well.

“There’ll be plenty of speed on and there’ll be breaks for her at some stage.”

Bjorn Baker on Unleeshing (race 4): "I think she is a very good chance. She is a mare that has always promised a lot and I think she will deliver this prep."

Monte Veebee wins at Newcastle on January 24

On Johnny Rocker (race 10): “He’s been out of form for a long time so it’s a tough ask. He has trialled okay but he does get plenty of weight against a competitive bunch of sprinters. We’ll find out where we’re at, he’s going to have to run well to warrant continuing.”

On Spring Lee (race 10): “She’s in good order, she gets in with a good weight. She has a tricky gate but we’ll weigh it up and see how we go, it’s only one turn and she’s ready to run well.”

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