Ken Casellas | Photo: Pacepix
The trend-setting and all-conquering trainers Greg and Skye Bond celebrated their century of winners this year when Raven Banner scored a most impressive victory in the 2536m Bridge Bar Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Raven Banner’s win completed a winning treble in successive events for the Bonds after they had prepared Peter Petrify and Master Yossi for their wins in the two previous events.
The Bond camp has an outstanding strike rate, with its 311 starters this season recording one hundred victories, 54 seconds and 34 third placings for stakes of $1,390,038.
The Bonds have an unassailable lead in the WA trainers’ premiership table, with their substantial lead over Michael Young (52 winners from 276 starters), Aiden De Campo (44 winners from 248 starters) and Gary Hall Snr (42 winners from 116 starters).
Raven Banner, a five-year-old Bettors Delight gelding, was the $2.90 favourite for Friday night’s race in which he was driven for the first time by talented young reinsman Kyle Symington.
Symington got Raven Banner away speedily from the No. 4 barrier and the gelding revealed excellent staying potential when he dashed over the final three 400m sections in 29.3sec., 28.4sec. and 28.5sec. on his way to winning by two and a half lengths from Onesmartfella ($4.60).
Raven Banner has the potential to develop into a candidate for rich summer feature events. He has had only 39 starts for nine wins, 14 placings and $113,114. He won at six of his 31 starts in New Zealand and his WA record stands at eight starts for three wins and three placings.
Raven Banner is the sixth foal out of the Washington VC mare Caitlin Banner, who is the dm of Trojan Banner (119 starts for 26 wins, 26 placings and $282,078) and Crusader Banner (49 starts for 14 wins, 13 placings and $157,222). Crusader Banner’s most important win was in the Group 3 Porter memorial at Gloucester Park in August 2015.