Baker bullish about Malkovich

Sydney-trainer Bjorn Baker is bullish about the chances of Malkovich in Saturday's Group 1 Oakleigh Plate.

The speedy sprinter has drawn barrier four with Craig Newitt set to ride at 52kg.

“He’s drawn ideally in gate four, Craig Newitt on with 52kgs, no doubt it’s a really tough race and we don’t want to get ahead of ourselves, but I think he’s a definitely in there with an each-way chance for sure,” Baker said.

“He’ll be in the first four or five from that gate I'm sure, he’s raced well at Caulfield before, he leads, he can sit off, he’s got options open I’ll just leave it up to Craig (Newitt).

“He’s a stallion, so you’ve got to give him an opportunity.”

Baker admits Malkovich was some way off his best at his latest outing in Sydney, where the four-year-old finished fifth in the Ranvet Sprint (1000m) at Randwick three-weeks ago.

“We’re looking forward to it, his first-up run he needed that there’s no doubt about it,” Baker said.

“He’s in good order, he’s definitely improved since then, I thought he might’ve been underdone, he had a massive weight that day, so he drops considerably.”

Baker has opted not to run Overpass in Melbourne this weekend, instead choosing to wait for the $750k Inglis Sprint next Saturday at Flemington.

“We’ve got Josh Parr booked to ride him, he’s also coming down to ride Maurice’s Medad in the Australian Guineas, so looking forward to that,” Baker said.

“I think Overpass will be a big chance in that.

“It’s nice to get down there to Melbourne and hopefully we can do it a bit more often.”