A Skye of blue in $300,000 Fremantle Cup

They were the top harness racing trainers in the west last year and Greg and Skye Bond came out strong at Gloucester Park on Friday night to quinella the $300,000 Fremantle Cup.

With four horses in the Group 1, it was stable stars Minstrel and Patronus Star that stole the headlines, finishing a very close one-two.

It was a short half-head that separated the pair with Minstrel claiming the honour after leading throughout from barrier one.

“The numbers fell in our favour that’s for sure,” said Greg Bond.

“There were probably some question marks with his (Minstrel) gatespeed but we personally didn’t have an issue and he showed that off the arm tonight.

“It was an action-packed affair wasn’t it? There were plenty of moves and plenty of pressure and to his credit he dug in and hung on which was great.”

It was that close on the finish line that Skye could not split her runners either.

“It was pretty close . . . I was keeping an eye on Minstrel at the top of the straight and I looked out wide and saw Patronus Star and he was flying and I didn’t know who had won but either way it was great,” she said.

Minstrel held off plenty of pressure throughout the race with Magnificent Storm racing on his outside and driver Gary Hall Jnr urging Chicago Bull three wide.

Subsequently, the sectionals for the 2536m feature were 28.1, 30.1, 28.7 and 28.8 seconds, resulting in a mile rate of 1:55.7.

When asked about the mid-race pressure Greg Bond was not overly concerned about the main dangers.

“Maybe to a degree and to a degree not too because they were the main dangers and they were working harder than what we were,” he said.

“I was probably more worried with what was sitting back in the pack and that might cause us some grief later on and that turned out to be Patronus Star which was alright and the blue colours were there so that was okay.

“Group 1 races are very hard to win and the amount of work that goes into setting your horses for them and ready for them, not just us, a lot of people, there is a lot of work involved and we’re just fortunate enough to have a great combination at the stable and how things are done.

“Skye spent that much time with the horses in the last week, couple of weeks actually, just getting them ready for this race and we managed to get a pay day tonight.”

That was ‘Team Bond’s’ second success in the time-honoured feature having won the 2006 edition with Money Magnet.

Minstrel, a five-year-old gelding by Rocknroll Hanover, now has earnings of $494,401 from 15 wins and 10 placings in 28 starts.

Patronus Star, a five-year-old gelding by American Ideal, pushed his stakes to $390,021 with a record of 13 wins and as many placings in 34 starts.

Both are former New Zealand pacers.

Click here to view the results from Gloucester Park on Friday night.

By Amanda Rando for Harnesslink