BACCARAT ROUGE BOUNCES BACK TO WINNING FORM

By Graham Potter | Friday, March 6, 2026

The William Kropp trained Baccarat Rouge bounced back to winning form when he saluted in a BM58 Handicap over 2020m at Ipswich on March 6.

The four-year-old daughter of Casino Prince had claimed back-to-back wins at Kilcoy and Gatton in January … in a BM60 Handicap over 1900m and a BM58 Handicap over 2000m respectively … but unplaced finishes in two subsequent starts (at Eagle Farm in a BM68 over 1800m and at Ipswich in a BM58 over 2180) dented the enthusiasm of punters with Baccarat Rouge allowed to start at double figure odds of $19.

Courtney Bellamy, who had partnered Baccarat Rouge in the last of those unplaced finishes, retained the ride and her 2kg claim arguably proved invaluable in a tight enough finish in which Baccarat Rouge got home by a 0.40 length margin.

Bellamy pushed the Kropp trained runner forward from the wide number eight barrier draw and crossed to settle in second place outside the leader, Slugworth ($17), and the leading two runners continued to maintain their positions all the way to the approach to the home turn, where challenges to the two frontrunners started to emerge with Key Command ($5.50) quickly coming into contention out wider on the track and Down Under Stunnah ($10) lurking on the inside.

With Key Command’s run short-lived, Baccarat Rouge moved up to tackle Slugworth early in the straight and these two runners then joined issue in earnest with Down Under Stunnah trying to stay with them along the inside running rail.

Baccarat Rouge headed Slugworth inside the final 180m, but only really put that one away over the final 50m before edging away to win by that 0.40 length margin from Down Under Stunner who went past Slugworth late to claim second spot.

A win on the board for William Kropp, but the race also produced a tinge of disappointment with the other Kropp trained runner, the much more favoured $2.90 race favourite Fire And Light finishing unplaced.

Some compensation for that result was that, while Baccarat Rouge and Bellamy made their own luck, Fire And light, who had finished second in his previous two starts, had no luck … arguably beaten by circumstances rather than poor performance.

The official stewards report tells that story best. It stated:
‘Fire And Light – Tightened at the start between runners. Raced keenly in the middle stages, and passing the 700m steadied from the heels of Call Me Legend. Held up for clear running from the 500m until the 300mn.’
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Two days earlier the lightly raced, William Kropp trained Piston Rebel maintained his record of never finishing out of the first three places when he went close to upstaging his rivals at a starting price of $16 in a Class 1 Handicap at Doomben over 1640m on March 4.

In his five career starts, Piston Rebel has finished third, second, first, third and second in a set of results which speaks to his honesty and consistency.

His disadvantage at the weights with the winner in this Doomben assignment was a real factor in the result.

The race was won by the Chris Waller trained three-year-old Saveur, a three-year-old daughter of Ole Kirk, whose win at Doomben gave her a second successive success and left her unbeaten in two starts since relocating to Queensland from Waller’s Sydney stables.

Saveur carried 54,5kg. Piston Rebel carried 60kg. The winning margin 1.25 lengths.

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