10 September 2019 | Tim Walker
Mighty Conqueror’s Return Imminent
Highly talented pacer Mighty Conqueror is nearing a return to racing, as he looks to work his way into feature races over the summer.
The Greg and Skye Bond-trained gelding made a big impression in his first season of racing in Western Australia, winning nine of his 13 starts.
His most impressive performance, arguably, came in the Golden Nugget where he finished second to stablemate Ana Malak.
Greg Bond said Mighty Conqueror had battled a few minor issues in his first season and gave him an extended break following his Easter Cup win in April.
“He’s working up with Our Alfie Romeo now, so they’re probably three weeks away this Friday from coming back to the races,” he told TABradio.
“We decided to give him a longer break than what we might normally give them.
“He’d done a lot of work, so he’d earnt the right to a couple of months off.”
Bond said he hoped Mighty Conqueror would be able to get to races like the Fremantle Cup and WA Pacing Cup in January, but felt the five-year-old would have to prove himself of being up to that level.
“He’s probably got to earn the right to get in to those races,” he said.
“He’s still only just over a $70,000 earning horse, so he still has less than $100,000 races to pick his way through.
“If he’s good enough he will be there.
“I’m pretty sure he will get there and when he does I’m sure he’ll be good enough as well.”
Ana Malak won both the Group 1 4YO Classic and Golden Nugget last season and has returned to the Bond team’s stable for the upcoming summer features.
The son of Bettors Delight went to Dean Braun’s Victorian stable earlier this year and won four of his seven starts.
However, Bond said Ana Malak was still some time from returning to the track.
“He’s had his second gallop today, so he’s probably six weeks away,” he said.
“He will come back and we will target Christmas time and January with him as well.”
Bond also confirmed Our Alfie Romeo would be the stable’s number one hope for the Group 1 Mares Classic over the summer.
Meanwhile, Kingslayer continued his unbeaten run in WA with another strong win in the Alcoa Family Fun Day Standing Start (2116m) at Pinjarra yesterday.
The gelding sat outside stablemate and race leader Where Ya Bin and went on to score a commanding 4.2m win.
Bond said it was rare the stable purchased five and six-year-olds from New Zealand, but felt Kingslayer could be a good acquisition for them.
“It looks like he’s going to develop into a nice performer for us,” he said.
“He’s not the age we normally buy, but I was over there in October and quite liked him.
“When he fronts up to mobile racing, I expect him to be more than competitive.”
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