Seventh Heaven For Bond Stable In Fremantle Cup
Seventh Heaven For Bond Stable In Fremantle Cup
The build up to the 90th running of the Retravision Fremantle Cup (2536m) at Gloucester Park will be remembered for the staggering achievement of Forrestdale-based trainers Greg and Skye Bond to have seven runners in the race.
The Bond team will break the record for having the most number of runners from one stable in a Fremantle Cup, a mark set previously by Gary Hall Snr, who had six in the race in 2016.
Almost 20 per cent of the horses from the prominent stable will face the starter in the first Group 1 of the year in Western Australia.
Last month’s Inter Dominion finalist Galactic Star headlines the Bond’s team in the $300,000 event.
The six-year-old is joined by stablemates Saying Grace, Our Jimmy Johnstone, Mitch Maguire, Vampiro, El Jacko and Our Max Phactor in the feature.
It also continues a dominant month for the stable, after they had six runners in the Golden Nugget on December 14 and the first five across the line.
The Bonds have a commanding lead in the trainer’s premiership for season 2018/19, sitting more than 50 winners in front of the second placed Ross Olivieri.
All seven of the Bond runners in the Fremantle Cup were purchased from New Zealand, where they started their racing careers.
Greg Bond, looking for his second Fremantle Cup after winning it with Money Magnet in 2006, said having seven in the race gave him plenty of confidence in his training setup.
“It means we are buying right,” he said.
“It also means the way we work them, feed them and train them is going well.
“They are all nice horses we buy, which makes the training of them easier.
“We aren’t buying fast class horses though.
“We bought Galactic Star as a one win three-year-old.
“So we are developing them on the way through and it’s good to see them flourishing.”
Rob Gartrell has been a key owner and supporter of the Bond stable for more than 20 years and owns four of the seven runners in tomorrow night’s event.
He also had a share in four of the Bond’s six runners in the Golden Nugget and likened the Bond’s enormous weight of numbers in tomorrow night’s feature race to that of some of the biggest stables in Australasia.
“It’s something that doesn’t happen very often and it’s a marvellous achievement,” he said.
“It’s difficult to do and not something that you plan for.
“Horses of theirs like Saying Grace and Our Max Phactor have really come out of the blue.
“In terms of Australia and New Zealand, we’ve seen the All Stars (Mark Purdon and Natalie Rasmussen) and Emma Stewart’s younger horses have big representation in races.
“Everything has come together nicely for them and at the right time.”
Prior to Galactic Star heading to Melbourne for last month’s Inter Dominion series, the stable had little more than 30 horses in work, a number which has grown slightly since then with an influx of two-year-olds.
It will be a special moment for the stable tomorrow night, should one of their seven runners be successful, given it would be Skye’s first success in the race.
Greg said his wife deserved much of the credit for getting seven runners into the race, particularly with the in-form but enigmatic pacer El Jacko.
“The reason we are in a training partnership is because it’s there to reflect what does happen,” he said.
“Skye probably puts in more hours than I do,” he said.
“Particularly with a horse like El Jacko who’s not easy to train.
“Skye has had to try a lot of different things with his work, because he’s not an easy horse to train.”
Greg also paid Ryan Warwick, the number one driver for the stable, who he said had put in a lot of work in at the stable.
Warwick elected to drive Galactic Star in the Fremantle Cup, after he drew barrier 10 on Monday night.
It could prove to be a key lead as to who the stable believe is the best chance in the race, given Warwick chose to drive Ana Malak to victory in both the Four-Year-Old Classic and the Golden Nugget.
Gartrell, who owns Our Jimmy Johnstone (barrier seven), Mitch Maguire (eight), Vampiro (nine) and Galactic Star (10), said he felt Warwick had made the right call.
“I think it’s one of those races where you go ‘the barrier draws aren’t that important’,” he said.
“Galactic Star is the best chance of the horses I’m involved in.
“He’s drawn the inside of the back line, which is a little tricky.
“With a good draw, we would’ve been really confident…now he needs a lot of luck and Ryan Warwick magic.”
Greg said while a lot of work had gone into tomorrow night’s Fremantle Cup, he still had one eye on upcoming feature races on both sides of the nation beyond tomorrow night.
“Leading up to tomorrow night’s race, it’s business as usual,” he said.
“I probably spend more time doing the one percenters and monitoring the horses a bit closer.
“I always felt we would have five or six in the race tomorrow night, but to have seven it’s a great effort.
“We are keeping one eye on our next challenges too, like the Pacing Cup next week.
“I’d like to be able to take one of these horses over for a Hunter Cup or a Miracle Mile.
“There’s always another race on the horizon.”
The Fremantle Cup gets underway at 7.57 tomorrow night.
Tim Walker