The Forrestdale stable of leading harness racing trainers Greg and Skye Bond is on fire and Burning is the topical tip to give punters an early fillip at the ten-event card at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Punters cashed in at Narrogin on Tuesday night when the Bond stable and reinsman Ryan Warwick landed three winners, Mitch Maguire ($1.70), Superimposed ($1.30) and Char Do Neigh ($23.20), with Mitch Maguire and Char Do Neigh each breaking a track record and Superimposed giving Warwick a century of winners for the season.
The Bonds won with Our Ideal Act, Dodolicious and Holy Grail at Gloucester Park last Friday night and with Gaz Wannabet and Pay Me Cullen at Gloucester Park the following night.
Greg and Skye Bond go into Friday night’s meeting with 176 winners from 839 starters this season and lead Gary Hall sen. (171 winners from 594 starters) on the Statewide trainers’ premiership table.
The Bond stable has 16 runners on Friday night, with Baylan Jett a strong each-way prospect in race one and Burning looking the goods from the ideal barrier No. 2 in the second event, the 2130m Waharoa Walton United RFC Pace, with the main opposition likely to come from the stable’s other four runners, Our Jimmy Johnstone, Change Stride, Ima Connoisseur and Bounty Eyre
Burning, a consistent Mach Three five-year-old, is in splendid form, with two wins and three placings from his past five starts. At his latest outing, over 2130m last Friday week, Burning was a 20/1 chance who began fast from the No. 5 barrier and worked hard on the outside of the pacemaker American Boy before finishing a fighting third behind that smart four-year-old and Commander Chapel.
Phoenix Warrior (race four), Holy Grail (eight) and Mighty Major (nine) all look strong winning chances for the Bond stable. Holy Grail was most impressive when he charged home from last to win in grand style over 2536m last Friday night, and he has the ability to fight out the finish of the 1730m Paige Smith Pace, despite starting out wide at barrier seven.
Five-year-old Mighty Major is a versatile performer who has won at two of his past three starts and he should fight out the finish with Straittothehilton in the Jazmyn Stol Special Pace.
Ken Casellas