Ken Casellas | Photo: Hamilton Content Creators
Outstanding reinsman Dylan Egerton-Green, beaten into second place in desperately close photo finishes in two of the three previous Golden Nugget Championships, put the record straight when he brought rank outsider Himself home with a powerful burst from the rear to win the $200,000 Retravision Golden Nugget at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
And Himself’s victory continued the dominance of champion trainers Greg and Skye Bond in the recent runnings of the prestigious Group 1 feature event for four-year-olds.
The Bonds, who had prepared Himself for the rich race with a diet of standing-start events, now have won three of the past four Nuggets, following the successes of Ana Malak in 2018 and Minstrel in 2021. The race was not run in 2020.
It was Ana Malak’s victory that really put the Bond stamp of authority on the Nugget, with the Forrestdale trainers also preparing Mighty Conqueror (second), Fizzing (third), Bright Diamond (fourth) and Bettor Aim (fifth) in 2018.
Mighty Conqueror, driven by Egerton-Green, finished a short half-head behind Ana Malak, and a year later Egerton-Green set the pace with the Colin Brown-trained Patrickthepiranha, who was overhauled in the final stride and was beaten by a head by the fast-finishing Shockwave.
Himself not only wrote his name in the record books as the longest-priced winner in the 42-year history of the Golden Nugget, but he also broke the race record and track record for 2536m.
Himself rated 1.54 and erased the names of other Bond-trained pacers Vampiro and Minstrel from the record books. Vampiro rated 1.54.1 in winning a Free-For-All from Bletchley Park and Galactic Star in December 2020, while Minstrel held the race record of 1.54.7.
Himself, a New Zealand-bred gelding by Sportswriter, was an effortless winner in a standing-start event a week before Friday night’s race, but he was overlooked by most punters and started at $76.40 and at $81 on the fixed market.
Himself was somewhat awkwardly drawn at the No. 5 barrier on the front line, and Egerton-Green’s plan was not to become involved in any early speed battles. He restrained the gelding back to tenth while the early speed was frenetic, with Trent Wheeler getting Pinny Tiger (the winner of the Group 1 Four-Year-Old Classic a fortnight earlier) away with a flying start from barrier seven and bursting straight to the lead.
Pinny Tiger ($13) then defied an early challenge from Mighty Ronaldo ($4.40) and then from Lavra Joe ($2.90 favourite). The lead time of a sizzling 63sec. was the fastest recorded in a 2536m event at the track.
Pinny Tiger continued to set a strong pace, with opening quarters of the final mile in 29.1sec. and 29.7sec. before he began to wilt. The Amber Hare, who had raced four back on the pegs, was sent forward, three wide, approaching the bell and Jocelyn Young sent the mare to the front with 600m to travel.
The third section went by in 29.1sec. and Himself was twelfth and last at the 900m. Jumpingjackmac ($6.50), who was last at the 1200m, followed The Amber Hare’s three-wide run in the final circuit before Aiden De Campo dashed him into the lead 350m from home. He fought on grandly to finish an excellent second (his tenth second placing to go with his 16 wins from 39 starts). Himself followed Jumpingjackmac, out three wide, in the last lap before surging to the front 250m from the finish.
The Bond-trained Tenzing Bromac ($34) raced three back on the pegs and finished gamely to be third despite breaking in the home straight.
For the 29-year-old Egerton-Green this was his ninth Group 1 victory. “There was a lot of speed inside us, so it was always the plan to take hold early,” he said. “I thought that over the journey, if they went hard, Himself’s toughness would prevail.
“There was a bit on early which played into our hands. After the fast lead time I was pretty happy.”
Before the Golden Nugget, Himself had won ten races, nine of them in stands. He won at three of his eleven New Zealand starts and his twelve starts in WA have produced eight wins and three seconds to boost his career record to 23 starts for eleven wins, seven placings and $238,861.
Skye Bond said that Himself had not been nominated for the $300,000 Retravision Fremantle Cup (2536m) and the $450,000 TABtouch WA Pacing Cup in January, but the stable would be keen to pay a $5500 late nomination fee if he maintained his splendid form.
“The Cup distances are ideal for Himself,” she said. “He definitely has the toughness to be a Cups horse. I guess those really good horses have not only toughness but real high speed as well. That’s a little question mark against Himself; how much top-end speed he has.”