Punters with long memories have been waiting for Bundeena to do something like he did at Randwick on Saturday. In the autumn of last year the Spirit Of Boom gelding had the tongues wagging with consecutive provincial wins by huge margins. He was at unbackable odds when he destroyed a maiden field at Gosford by 5.2 lengths and followed up with a 4.58 length demolition of Cl 1 company at Hawkesbury.
The dominance of those two wins saw him start favourite in the Albury Guineas three weeks later. Uncharacteristically he overdid things outside the leader before weakening out of a place. When the vets gave him a clean bill of health after the Albury failure trainer John Thompson elected to push on to a Randwick Midway. Bundeena looked like being in the finish inside the 200m, but on the line was a well beaten seventh over five lengths behind winner Mayrose. A very legitimate excuse surfaced a few days later when a substantial bone chip appeared in one knee. Minor surgery followed and then it was off to the spelling paddock.
One of the best maiden wins of 2023. Bundeena (Keagan Latham) strolls home at Gosford in February last year - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
Bundeena resumed in July of last year but struggled to find his best form, finishing out of a place in four runs. He wasn’t beaten far in any of them, but John suspected something wasn’t quite right. His fears were confirmed when a bone chip presented itself in the opposite knee. More arthroscopic surgery was followed by another long stint in the spelling paddock. “He’s been a different horse this time in,” said the trainer. “He’s doing what we expected him to do after those two brilliant provincial wins last year.”
First up Bundeena finished a close up fifth to One Destiny on a Heavy 8 at Warwick Farm and showed the benefit of the outing by comfortably accounting for Vegas Raider in a BM 72 on the Kensington track on July 17th. Ten days later he struck a very smart field in a BM 72 at Randwick and finished third with a couple of excuses in hand. He went back to near last from a wide draw and was obliged to loop the entire field when he did get on his way. This was the day when runners were using almost the entire width of the track in the run home. The gelding was forced close to the outside fence in the straight before finishing a very creditable third to Hi Dubai and Cosy Corner. The latter came out to win impressively last Saturday. The ducks lined up for Bundeena’s prospects in this week’s Midway.
Despite another very wide draw, Chad Schofield elected to go forward, even though it appeared certain he’d have to cover ground around the corner. The least concerned was Bundeena who simply cruised up the rise outside Detendu and Prince Invincible, before letting down brilliantly at the 200m. He had the race won in a twinkling and was strong right to the line in beating the favourite Well Timed who’s highly regarded by trainer Kerry Parker. Winning jockey Chad Schofield summed it up when he spoke to John Thompson on dismounting. “It’s a good feeling when they’re travelling that easily coming up the rise.”
Chad Schofield had an easy ride on Bundeena in the Midway at Randwick - courtesy Steve Hart Photographics.
Bundeena’s two lengthy absences from the racetrack explain the fact that he’s had just sixteen race starts for four wins, four placings and a purse of $176,000 - more than double his purchase price at the 2021 Inglis Classic Yearling Sale. “I bought him pretty much on type for $80,000,” recalled John. “His dam had been Gr 3 placed in Victoria while his sire Spirit of Boom never stops getting winners. A group of my loyal and long standing owners got together to form a syndicate and they’re having a good time so far. They had to be patient while the horse got over his knee problems, but that patience is being rewarded now. He’s a lightly raced horse with a lot of natural talent.”
The Thompson stable has been on a roll in recent weeks - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
The John Thompson stable has been on a roll in recent weeks. A few hours after Bundeena’s Randwick win, the stable scored with Capitol Hill at Kembla Grange. He sent three runners to Newcastle last Thursday and came away with a winning double courtesy of Hell’s Itch and Montana Dawn. His third runner Media Frenzy made it a quinella with stablemate Hell’s Itch. John won with Zouripper at Canterbury on July 24th, Jojo Was A Man in the listed Winter Challenge at Rosehill on July 20th while Clear Proof and Bundeena gave him a double on the Kensington track in the middle of the month - total eight wins in twenty four days.
The experienced trainer is enamoured of Clear Proof going forward. The son of Justify had competed in five trials over a period of nine months before making his debut in a maiden two year old event as a despised outsider at $101. After “walking” out of the gates he settled down midfield on the fence in a nine horse field. On straightening up he was presented with an uninterrupted run when the two favourites Axius and Dawn Service both rolled away from the fence. Clear Proof joined Axius at the 100m and quickly got the better of him despite laying out noticeably in the closing stages. He looked more like a $2.40 chance as he careered away to win by a handy margin.
Those who doubted the worth of the form have been silenced by the subsequent performances of the horses he beat into the placings on July 17th. Dawn Service won his maiden at Hawkesbury on August 1st by more than four lengths at odds of $1.55, while Axius started favourite and blitzed a maiden field at Canterbury six days later. By coincidence Clear Proof, Axius and Dawn Service are all sons of the celebrated US Triple Crown winner Justify who’s having an impact as a stallion in two hemispheres. Such is the trainer’s opinion of Clear Proof that he intends to go straight to stakes company in The Rosebud on Saturday. “Had Axius and Dawn Service not been so impressive at their following starts, I may have looked for something easier for Clear Proof,” said the trainer. “The form out of his Kenso win is so strong, I think he deserves a crack at black type.”
Clear Proof belied his cricket score odds with a dominant win on the Kensington track last month - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
Few Sydney trainers can boast a more thorough grounding in the business than quietly spoken John Thompson. He learned the basics as a youngster from his grandfather Vic Thompson Snr who’d been one of Sydney’s most respected trainers for many years. On leaving school John worked for two years in the famous Crown Lodge training complex established by the Ingham brothers at Warwick Farm, with his father Vic Thompson Jnr as head trainer. Young Thompson had to reassess his future when Vic Jnr and the Inghams went their separate ways. When his dad opted to train a small team in his own right, John elected to stay on as his foreman and it was six years before he felt the urge to spread his wings.
He moved swiftly when a foreman’s role became available at the Randwick stables of prominent trainer Bill Mitchell. He landed that job at a time when Mitchell was training some very talented horses. “General Nediym was there when I started and so were Dignity Dancer and Kenwood Melody,” recalled John. “I got the job of taking Dignity Dancer to Melbourne when he won the Alister Clark, AAMI Classic, Australian Guineas treble. It was a tremendous learning curve.”
John spent eight happy years as foreman to Bart Cummings. Here he is with the maestro at Randwick in 2006 - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
The stars aligned for the young horseman when his good friend Matthew Smith opted to vacate his foreman’s role with Bart Cummings at the landmark Leilani Lodge stables at Randwick. John landed the job and would spend eight valuable years under the tuition of the master. He was at the Warwick Farm barrier trials supervising a big team of horses from the Cummings stable when the fateful phone call came from Nathan Tinkler. That call would lead to a private meeting with the mining magnate who made Thompson an offer he simply couldn’t refuse. Before he had time to collect his thoughts, John found himself at Warwick Farm supervising the training of 120 horses. It was mid 2008, and a bittersweet phase in Thompson’s career was about to begin.
The Patinack project lasted about eighteen months, during which time the winners flowed. In one season John finished third on the Australian trainer’s list behind Peter Moody and the Darley operation under the control of Peter Snowden. In the same season he was Australia’s leading trainer of winning two year olds. It’s now well documented that the dispersal of 1600 horses in two “fire sales” in 2014 brought the era of Patinack Farm to a sad conclusion. It also brought to an end the most difficult period of John Thompson’s life.
John with Jim Cassidy after Casino Swoop's easy win at Canterbury 2014 - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
Nowadays it all seems such a long time ago to a trainer whose talents are respected by all sections of the racing industry. He’s now doing what he always wanted to do, and that’s to train around forty horses at Randwick - his preferred location ever since those heady days with Bill Mitchell and Bart Cummings.
The 50 year old is approaching the significant milestone of 1000 training wins. He looks back on seven wins at Gr 1 level with Small Minds (Australasian Oaks), Pear Tart (Tatts Tiara), Nechita (Coolmore Stud Stakes), First Seal (Flight Stakes), Gathering (WA Railway Stakes), Dreamforce (George Ryder Stakes), and Sir John Hawkwood (ATC Metropolitan). The trainer’s CV reveals twenty two Gr 2 wins, twenty three at Gr 3 and thirty eight at listed level. He wasn’t able to win a Gr 1 with Trusting but firmly believes the stallion was the best horse he’s trained to date. The son of Tale Of The Cat was second in a George Main and an Epsom and won two Gr 2’s, a Hill Stakes and Chelmsford Stakes.
There was a time in Sydney racing when forty horses was a substantial team. Tommy Smith in his busiest years rarely had more than 100 in work between two Randwick locations and Brian Mayfield-Smith peaked at the same number during the reign of Nebo Lodge at Rosehill. John Thompson has had several opportunities to exceed forty horses but his stable is full at that figure, and he has no complaints. He recognises the advantages of not stretching himself too far and enjoys the luxury of being personally across all issues large and small. Whatever he’s doing is having the desired effect if that recent hot winning run is any indication.
One of John's seven Gr. 1 successes - Dreamforce (Nash Rawiller) defeats The Bostonian (J. McDonald) in the 2020 George Ryder Stakes - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
(Banner image - Bundeena looked to have something in reserve as he reached the line in Saturday's Midway - courtesy Steve Hart Photographics.)