Rod Chambers experienced the thrill of winning an Inter Dominion when he drove Jack Morris to win the 1993 Final in Brisbane for trainer Sean Harney.
The dust and prevailing easterly winds at his Oakford property robbed the affable Chambers of a second Inter Dominion win.
After winning one of two starts as a 3yo in New Zealand, Baltic Eagle was sold for $50,000 to a group headed by Perth builder Ross North, Mark Congerton, Henry McManus and their respective wives, Baltic Eagle was sent to Chambers to be trained.
The gelding won nine of his first ten starts for Chambers and his future looked bright before a series of lacklustre performance in the summer of 2001 saw the son of Totally Ruthless sent for a lengthy spell.
Resuming in winter of 2002 Baltic Eagle still struggled to live up to his early form until the vets at Murdoch University diagnosed a lung infection due to a form of asthma aggravated by the dusty conditions where he was being trained in Oakford.
Baltic Eagle was transferred to the stables of Kim Prentice and Prentice utilised the Australind Estuary to train the gelding.
The horse entered Prentice’s stables in September 2002 and the 6yo had his first start for Prentice on New Years Eve 2002 in the Be Active Celebrity Mile which he won comfortably.
Baltic Eagle’s next start was ten days later in the Group One Fremantle Cup but the rise in class was of little concern as Baltic Eagle overcame a 10 metres handicap and cruised home in the 2900 metre standing start race clear of Sokys Raider and Highest Honour.
A fortnight later, in the WA Pacing Cup, Baltic Eagle joined champions The Falcon Strike, Village Kid and Pure Steel as winners of both of Western Australia’s flagship races in the same season.
Only the Gary Hall trained trio of The Falcon Strike, Im Themightyquinn and Chicago Bull have achieved the feat since Baltic Eagle’s triumph.
After his dual Cup triumph in Perth Baltic Eagle’s connections confirmed a trip to managing owner Ross North’s homeland to tackle the Inter Dominion Championship in Christchurch.
While a handful of Australian trained horses had won the Inter Dominion Final in New Zealand none had made the 5000 km trek from Perth to Christchurch.
A stopover in Melbourne saw Baltic Eagle unplaced in the standing start Victoria Cup behind Young Rufus after galloping at the start.
Baltic Eagle was just five metres away in fourth place in the $400,000 Hunter Cup won by Mont Denver Gold from the front mark with Baltic Eagle starting from the 10 metres mark.
Not deterred, Prentice pushed on with the Inter Dominion campaign and was able to replicate the horse’s Western Australian training conditions on a beach at Woodend just north of Christchurch.
Baltic Eagle again thrived on a beach training regime and although a little under-done he finishes a close-up fourth behind Holmes D G, Shakamaker and Oaxaka Lass after starting from the extreme outside in barrier 14.
Baltic Eagle was outstanding in the next two rounds of heats and was a warm favourite when the field lined up for the $500,000 Final.
He led comfortably and finished the race a length clear of fellow Australian Mont Denver Gold and Holmes D G back in third place.
Since Baltic Eagle’s memorable win only the redoubtable Im Themightyquinn has equalled the feat of winning the Inter Dominion in New Zealand in the same season as winning both the WA Pacing Cup and Fremantle Cup.
Although winning a Be Active Celebrity Mile and a Fremantle Members Sprint and being placed in both a WA Pacing Cup and Fremantle Cup, Baltic Eagle never quite recaptured his form of the summer of 2003 and he was retired in 2005 with a record of 21 wins and seven minor placings from his 40 career starts and earnings of $746,980.