Ken Casellas | Photo: Hamilton Content Creators
Champion trainers Greg and Skye Bond have bright prospects of completing a hat-trick of victories in the $50,000 Lord Mayor’s Cup when last-start winners Patronus Star and Genledi Chief clash in the Group 3 feature event at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
The pair of New Zealand-bred six-year-olds have the class to overcome awkward barriers to fight out the finish of the 2130m event, and I favour the brilliant Patronus Star to carry too many guns for Glenledi Chief.
The Bonds have won the past two Lord Mayor’s Cups with Mighty Conqueror winning in December 2020 and Minstrel setting the pace and winning from Roman Art last February. These victories followed the Bond-trained El Jacko finishing second in the two previous Lord Mayor’s Cups when beaten by Vultan Tin in February 2019 and by Handsandwheels in January 2020.
Deni Roberts will handle Patronus Star, who will start from the inside of the back line, immediately behind the polemarker and likely pacemaker Hampton Banner. Gary Hall Jnr will drive Glenledi Chief from the No. 7 barrier.
Patronus Star had a perfect sit in the one-out, one-back position before finishing strongly to win by a half-length from Glenledi Chief in the 2130m Media Guild Cup last Friday week. The final 800m was covered in a brisk 55.2sec.
Glenledi Chief was gallant in defeat, after having worked hard in the breeze outside the pacemaker Hampton Banner. Glenledi Chief again raced without cover when Hampton Banner set the pace in a 2536m Free-For-All last Friday night, and he finished determinedly to win by a nose from the fast-finishing Handsandwheels.
Nine-year-old Handsandwheels is racing with youthful enthusiasm for trainer-reinsman Aiden De Campo. He raced three back on the pegs and did not gain a clear run until the final stages in last week’s race. Handsandwheels will start from the No. 2 barrier on Friday night, but he is unlikely to be able to muster sufficient early pace to get past the polemarker Hampton Banner.
Jocelyn Young, who will drive Hampton Banner for trainer Debra Lewis, said she was pleased with the gelding’s close-up third behind Glenledi Chief and Handsandwheels last Friday night when Hampton banner began brilliantly from barrier seven to burst straight to the front.
After modest opening quarters of 31.4sec. and 29.3sec. Hampton Banner sprinted the third 400m section in 27.8sec. before a final quarter of 28.5sec.
“Barrier one helps this week, and I’d say he will lead — and then it’s up to him,” said Young. “He faded back to fifth over 2130m two starts ago, and then he didn’t get beaten by much over 2536m last week.”