Step It Up A Notch only had one thing on his mind as he ran to a special win for the Bond family at Winton yesterday.
The 5yr-old was keen to run and did exactly that, leaving his rivals in his wake in a powerhouse performance for trainer Lyndon Bond and driver Oliver Kite.
Just one day prior to the meeting, the funeral of Bond’s wife Aimee’s father Colin Argyle had been held.
Bond had wanted to honour his father-in-law with a win at Winton, and Step It Up A Notch made sure that win was never in doubt.
Once the pacer found the front he travelled strongly for Kite, reeling off a sharp 55.7sec last 800m in cool conditions that were not exactly made for sizzling speed.
Bond was left lost for words after he shared in a special win with his family.
"It has been an emotional week — we have had our losses — but to top it off with Step It Up A Notch was special."
"Stella Bay didn’t do it, but she still went super running second."
"But to send Aimee’s dad off with a win, I am speechless."
The Bond family’s special win was made possible by a pinpoint drive from Oliver Kite.
Kite settled the pacer back in the field early before working forward to find the lead in the middle stages.
Kite then let the horse roll from the 800m, putting the rest of the field under plenty of pressure before the home turn.
"Kudos to Ollie Kite — it was a beautiful drive," Bond said.
‘He drove the horse absolutely super — he couldn’t have driven him any better.
"I don’t think Blair Orange would have driven him any better."
Step It Up A Notch’s victory continued the great form the Bond stable has produced this year.
The barn has 10 wins on the board, and the trainer is on track to register his best strike rate in 10 years of training.
