War Eternal lands gritty Listed win to top A$1 million earnings
War Eternal surged past A$1.03 million with a neck win at Eagle Farm, backing up his Bernborough success and sharpening his winter plans.
War Eternal turned a rugged Listed Spear Chief Handicap into a career pivot at Eagle Farm, digging through a Soft 5 surface to edge Sun God by a neck and push his earnings past A$1 million. The Bjorn Baker-trained seven-year-old, ridden by Rachel King, clocked 1:30.06 for 1500m at $26, with Shadizi two lengths away in third.
The result mattered well beyond the prizemoney. Several runners were using the race as a last-shot route into the Group 1 Stradbroke Handicap, and War Eternal’s toughness shut that door while confirming him as one of Queensland’s most dependable winter performers. Three weeks after landing the Listed Bernborough Handicap at Doomben, he delivered back-to-back black-type wins in Brisbane and lifted his record to 39 starts for seven wins and eight placings.
That kind of return is exactly why War Eternal has become such a stable anchor for Baker. Jim Clarke described him as a stable stalwart and “an absolute ripper,” and the numbers back up that faith: bought for NZ$160,000 at the 2020 Karaka Book 1 sale by Bjorn Baker Racing and Clarke Bloodstock, he has now earned about A$1.03 million on the track.
The breeding story adds another layer to the performance. War Eternal was bred by Cambridge Stud principals Sir Brendan and Lady Jo Lindsay, by Pierro out of the Fastnet Rock mare Aleria, the first foal from a family that includes dual stakes winner Impressive Eagle and G1 Queensland Derby winner Eagle Way. Cambridge Stud sales and nominations manager Scott Calder said the gelding’s success was a credit to the stud’s long-term broodmare approach, and the Eagle Farm result extended a strong Queensland winter run for the operation after city wins with Silver Wedding and Excenia.
Rachel King said War Eternal is “so tough and genuine” and keeps finding under pressure, which was exactly what the race demanded when Sun God came at him late. That resilience now leaves Baker with a live question for the rest of the winter: keep collecting black type at this level, or send a proven Brisbane campaigner into even deeper waters and see whether his ceiling is still higher.
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