AMOR VICTORIOUS GIVES BAKER A LANDMARK VICTORY

By Graham Potter | Saturday, December 27, 2025

Amor Victorious is probably an apt a name as any for a horse that takes a trainer to one hundred stakes winners … and that is exactly what Amor Victorious did when he helped carry Bjorn Baker to that landmark victory when he saluted in the Listed Members’ Mile over 1600m at Eagle Farm on December 27, 2025.

The race was fought out by the two horses at the top of the betting boards with Amor Victorious starting at $2.40, narrowly ahead of his market rival Miss Joelene ($2.90) … and the contest came down to a driving finish between these two main fancies with only a diminishing 0.11 lengths separating the winner Amor Victorious from the faster finishing Miss Joelene.

Amor Victorious came into the race on the back of a creditable effort in the Group 2 The Ingham over 1600m at Randwick on December 13. He did finish unplaced on that occasion but was only a little under three lengths behind the very smart winner, Yorkshire, who is a winner of eight of his eleven starts.

Amor Victorious does have a Group 2 to his name, having taken out the Shannon Stakes back in September 2024.

For her part, Miss Joelene came into the race having saluted in her pervious start in the Listed Tails Stakes over 1500m at Eagle Farm, also on December 13 … so both of these runners were primed to make it a keen contest.

Jason Collett, who would have a field day riding four winners at the meeting, sent Amor Victorious into an immediate lead. Torabella ($8) quickly emerged from the pack to race up alongside the leader and he continued to annoy Amor Victorious all the way through the approach to the home with this early two-way battle taking these two runners all of four lengths clear of the third placed runner.

At this stage Miss Joelene was racing in last place, ten lengths off the lead.

Just a Torabella tried to increase the pressure on Amor Victorious on straightening, Collette gave the Baker trained runner more rein, and the son of Caravaggio had a kick which Torabella could not match, and suddenly Amor Victorious had a two length lead halfway up the straight with victory beckoning.

But it was not over yet.

Miss Joelene was still last when the field turned for home, swinging five wide with eight lengths to make up. In truth, it looked to be a hopeless position, but, with a clear run to the line Miss Joelene began to pick up momentum, gradually at first until revving up in full cry, closing ground incredibly fast ... to the degree that, inside the final 75m, it became a case of whether Amor Victorious could stay on long enough to thwart Miss Joelene’s flying late effort.

Amor Victorious showed courage to secure the win which was full of merit, bearing in mind that he was asked to do the work at both ends and also the fact that he carried 59kg to victory, 3.5kg more than the weight carried by Miss Joelene.

Amor Victorious is now a seven-time winner from twenty-one starts with $779 850 banked in prize-money.

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