Star pacer Mighty Conqueror gave further proof that he will be a major player in the WA Pacing Cup in the summer when he proved the master of his up-and-coming stablemate Patronus Star in the $25,000 2130m Catalano Truck And Equipment Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
He won the WA Pacing Cup in January 2020 and finished third behind Vultan Tin and Chicago Bull in the following WA Pacing Cup last December.
Mighty Conqueror, owned and trained by Greg and Skye Bond, was the $1.40 favourite from the No. 6 barrier on Friday night when Dylan Egerton-Green got him away speedily to dash past the polemarker and $5 second fancy Patronus Star after 250m.
He then set a solid pace, with Major Times ($12) in the breeze, Patronus Star enjoying a perfect run behind the leader, and $51 outsider Gambit in the one-out, one-back position.
Patronus Star ran home strongly to finish second, a half-neck behind the winner, with $71 chance Ideal Liner, aided by an inside passage, finishing gamely from sixth at the bell to be third. The final 400m sections were covered in 28sec. and 27.9sec. and the winner rated 1.55.3.
Mighty Conqueror, a six-year-old by American Ideal who won at three of his four New Zealand starts for $20,000, has proved a great acquisition for the Bonds and he now boats a marvellous record of 42 starts for 20 wins, 11 placings and $618,643 in stakes.
The Bonds have high hopes that the four-year-old American Ideal gelding Patronus Star will develop into a strong Cups contender. He shows every sign of becoming one of the State’s best pacers, and he has already amassed $324,072 in prizemoney from his 13 wins and eight placings from 26 starts.
Deni Roberts drove Patronus Star on Friday night and was impressed with his excellent performance, saying: “He has been thrown into Free-For-All company, coming out of juvenile races, and he isn’t as seasoned as the other horses. It was nice to get a soft run and hit the line good.”
Written by: Ken Casellas | Photo Credit” Hamilton Content Creators