Stamping his claims as a serious racing prospect when finishing a close second in the Group 1 Victoria Derby (2500m) at Flemington last time out on November 1st, trainer Danny O’Brien has revealed he will set classy three-year-old Bondeiger for a tilt at the featured Group 1 Australian Guineas (1600m) through the 2015 Autumn Carnival.
Trainer Danny O’Brien has revealed Bondeiger (centre) will be set for the Group 1 Australian Guineas during the 2015 autumn. Photo: Sarah Ebbett
Finishing outside the places just once over his six start career so far, Bondeiger displayed an exceptional turn of foot in the final straight of the Victoria Derby and was unlucky not to poke clear of the Chris Waller-trained winner Preferment.
No stranger to success in the Australian Guineas having saddled Shamrocker to victory in 2011 and Shamus Award in the Group 1’s most recent edition this year, O’Brien told Racing Victoria Bondeiger will likely progress to the Sydney autumn following the Australian Guineas, but is confident the War Pass colt has all the tools for a successful tilt at the highest level of Australian racing early in his campaign.
“He’ll be second-up into the Australian Guineas, which is a formula which worked with both Shamrocker and Shamus Award, then we’d potentially go to Sydney from there,” the Flemington-based trainer said.
“Shamrocker has a similar spring to him; she ran second in the Oaks and came back and made huge improvement in winning both the Australian Guineas and the Australian Derby (2400m) and wi would say those races are out of reach for him.
“He’s got that sort of improvement in him. He only had the one run at 1000m as a two-year-old (Catanach’s Jewellers Handicap) and he’s had a good grounding now during the spring and I’d expect him to make really good improvement during the autumn.”
Returning to racing for second in the Join The Briseis Club Maiden (1300m) on September 12th, Bondeiger secured impressive back-to-back victories in the Market Square Shopping Maiden (1435m) and Champagne Pommery 3.y.o (1600m) before a luckless run for seventh in the Group 2 Moonee Valley Vase (2040m) on October 25th, just one week prior to the Victoria Derby.
