Cambridge trainer Murray Baker has no doubt that history-maker It’s A Dundeel (NZ) is the best three-year-old he has trained.

“He’s the only horse to have ever won the Gloaming, the Spring Champion, the Randwick Guineas, the Rosehill Guineas and the Australian Derby and he won the New South Wales Horse of the Year,” Baker said.  “He’s probably the best horse I’ve ever had.”

The son of High Chaparral has had headed off some outstanding horses to have gone through the Baker stable to have earned such a rating.

“The Phantom, Lion Tamer and Nom du Jeu were all terrific performers, but this horse has done it all in Australia and that’s the benchmark,” Baker explained.  “Eagle Eye was another very good horse who went over there as a four-year-old.”

It’s a Dundeel (3c High Chaparral – Stareel by Zabeel) was not offered at auction and he is one of five winners from Stareel who is a daughter of G1 New Zealand Oaks winner Staring.

He is a New Zealand bred son of High Chaparral who originally shuttled to Windsor Park.  Since switching to Coolmore’s Hunter Valley base in 2010, High Chaparral’s southern stock have continued his climb up the stallion tables – his first Australian crop averaged $284,000 at the 2013 Inglis Easter Yearling Sale.

It’s A Dundeel will open his W S Cox Plate (2040m) campaign at Caulfield on Saturday in the G1 Memsie Stakes (1400m) but Baker isn’t expecting the four-year-old to replicate The Phantom’s 1990 win in the event.

It’s A Dundeel will then run in next month’s G1 Underwood Stakes (1800m), also won by The Phantom and Lion Tamer in 2011, and then either the Turnbull Stakes (2000m) at Flemington or the Caulfield Stakes (2000m) to fine tune him for the Moonee Valley feature.

Baker has also accepted with It’s A Dundeel’s travelling partner Orion in the G3 McNeil Stakes (1200m), but isn’t a certain starter.  “I’m happy where he’s at and he’s working along nicely.  He will either start there or wait for a race at Mornington,” he said.

Orion was an impressive winner of his only start at Te Rapa in the autumn before he was put aside to develop.  The G1 VRC Derby, which Baker also won with Lion Tamer, is a longer-term target for O’Reilly gelding.