To Bravery Born (tangerine) was one of four winners for Opie Bosson at Taupō on Sunday. Pic/Kenton Wright.
From the moment Opie Bosson dusted off his raceday saddle to return from premature retirement it was just a matter of when.
When would he, after a few sighters and some raceday rides to get back in shape, again be our best jockey, converting possible winners into probable ones?
That “when” was at Taupō yesterday.
Bosson resumed from his self-imposed exile from racing at Awapuni two weeks ago but few horses he has ridden in that time have ever really looked winning chances.
Until yesterday.
The 45-year-old was all smooth action and perfect timing yesterday, an ominous sign for what lies ahead.
It helped that Te Akau’s smart three-year-olds were rolled out as the stable now run locally by Sam Bergerson started down their path to spring glory.
You could easily argue there are plenty of riders in either jockey’s room who could have kicked To Bravery Born or In Haste home in yesterday’s two good three-year-old races.
And you would be right.
But there is no rider in the country who, once he is dialed in, gives punters, trainers or horses the same confidence as the man in the white gloves.
Bosson will have enjoyed yesterday as much as anybody can enjoy Taupō on a wet Sunday for a variety of reasons.
He doesn’t particularly like riding in August but it has been a valuable exercise in getting his mental and physical fitness back before the Group 1 season begins at Ellerslie on September 6.
Bosson famously retired last December on 99 domestic Group 1 victories and would like to raise the bat sooner rather than later then get down to the serious business of riding winners and making money.
And he looks happy to be back being great at something, which is far more satisfying than wasting your time being good at not doing much. “It was nice to get the monkey off my back,” he smiled.
Bosson’s first win of the day, actually make that the entire year, came on the O’Sullivan/Scott-trained Te Atatu Dream followed by three in a row for his home stable of Walker/Bergerson.
Carsolio was speedy winning a maiden without looking to really enjoy the heavy track conditions before To Bravery Born justified hot favouritism in the three-year-old boy’s race.
He only got there by a nose but conceded the runner-up 3.5kg and is going to be a factor in the early season three-year-old features, especially with our best two juveniles from last season now at Te Akau’s Cranbourne stable.
To Bravey Born’s next target is likely to be the Whanganui Guineas on September 30.
The last leg of Bosson’s personal quaddie was on the filly In Haste, who was impressive coming wide in possibly the strongest local race of the weekend.
Like To Bravery Born, she is by the late champion stallion Snitzel and In Haste is the perfect flagbearer for the TAB Racing Club, the free initiative to get Kiwis into racehorse ownership which already has over 10,000 members.
In Haste’s win saw her shorten into $10 fourth favouritism for the 1000 Guineas in what already looks a very deep classic, while To Bravery Born sits on the fourth line for the 2000 Guineas a week later on November 16.
Carsolio is also now in the 2000 Guineas market at $12 but neither horse may have Bosson’s services by the time the classic rolls around at Riccarton, with their stablemates Hostility and He Who Dares ahead of them at the top of the market.
Hostility, a NZB Ready To Run sales record-breaker, is the horse Bosson first mentions when you ask him who he is looking forward to riding this spring.
After yesterday, Bosson sits third equal on the jockey’s premiership but is still $61 with the TAB to win the title. He would be a lot, lot shorter if they were offering odds on a premiership solely for black type winners this season.
** The Walker/Bergerson treble at Taupō was even bettered by the stable at Ballarat when they provided the trifecta in the A$400,000 Grand National Steeplechase yesterday.
Former Wellington Cup winner Leaderboard saw off local jumping hero Stern Idol and favourite Noonday Gun, who slipped when challenging at the last fence in the 4500m feature.
That saw Leaderboard bolt in from stablemates The Mighty Spar and Prismatic, the first time a stable has trifectaed one of the great races in Australian jumping.
Michael Guerin wrote his first nationally published racing articles while still in school and started writing about horse racing and the gambling industry for the Herald as a 20-year-old in 1990. He became the Herald’s Racing Editor in 1995 and covers the world’s biggest horse racing carnivals.