Late bloomer Baraqiel retains his unbeaten record on Saturday

The team of Leon and Troy Corstens along with the ownership group have done well to maintain the faith in Baraqiel. To have a horse who is rising six when making a debut is something that is rarely seen in horse racing anywhere in the world but their quickly improving gelding has now hit the horse racing bookmakers hard with four straight wins.

Baraqiel a late bloomer after injuries

Problems with his knees as well as injuries to a tendon kept Baraqiel off the track until the age of five. He had always shown enough at home to make his training team want to preach time and patience with him and Corstens was quick to thank the ownership group for having that faith and giving the horse time in a post-race interview. 

It was not until May 5 when Baraqiel would make it to the track for his first career race. He went to Sale for a maiden contest and would run out a ready four-length winner. Punters were quick to latch onto him in his second and third starts at Pakenham and Swan Hill where he was sent off at odds of $1.55 and $170.

Front running at Pakenham perhaps did not see him to his best, a stronger display at Swan Hill when he had something to take him into the race. That seems to be important to him to show his best with pace to chase.

Caulfield win retains an unbeaten record

Baraqiel would enter Saturday’s BM84 contest with a rating of 74, getting in as the first emergency reserve to gain a place in the race. Ben Allen is the only hoop who has had the ride on him so far in his career, the pair clearly getting on well together.

It is fair to say that things were not entirely smooth sailing for him, left in front a long way from home and in his first run at a ‘big’ track, Allen said the horse spent a lot of the home straight staring at the crowd and the grandstand. That is no bad thing for the future, however, suggesting that he has a lot of improvement still to come when he has matured a little more. 

Could Baraqiel win black type in the spring?

If he continues to improve at the rate that he has in less than two months, there is a strong chance that he can at least find a Listed contest that has his name on it. While a lot of horses at the age of six are starting to find their way back down the ratings, this gelding should still be on the way up.

One of his biggest strengths seems to be his adaptability. He has a pair of wins on a Good 4 surface, a Soft 6 win and Saturday was a Soft 7 at Caulfield. Being able to show a smart level of form on all ground is going to make him a much easier horse to place and find further races to win. The fact that he seems to be a better horse with something to chase also bodes well for his potential black type future with stronger rivals to chase down.

Not too many horses go unbeaten through their first four career starts. While Baraqiel might not be a Group 1 star, his growing presence in such a short space of time is a story that will be looked forward to in the spring when we see just how good he is.