Three-time Group placegetter Bobby The Brute has been making up for lost time since returning from an injury-enforced six-month stint on the sidelines.
Trained by Brendan Pursell at Lara, Bobby The Brute, the winner of 13 from 44, is chasing his fifth win from his past six starts at The Meadows on Saturday night in Race 8, a FFA (525m) to be run at 9.02pm.
However, that purple patch stretches back to January, when the son of KC And All and She’s Scandalous claimed back-to-back 600m successes at The Meadows, hot on the heels of running a close third to the freakish Houdini Boy in the G1 Sale Cup final (650m).
“He broke his hock at The Meadows but it wasn’t too bad and didn’t require surgery,” explained former Tasmanian mentor Pursell.
“We just took our time and brought him back slowly and the dog is flying.”
While Bobby The Brute was competing at elite middle distance level prior to being injured, there’s no doubting his versatility.
He was only beaten one length when runner-up to champion sprinter Simon Told Helen in the G2 Geelong Gold Cup (520m) last October, while he also ran second in the G3 Flying Amy Classic (520m) in Brisbane.
Upon resuming, Bobby The Brute won first-up at Geelong (25.86sec) and then sped around The Meadows in 29.84sec at a Wednesday meeting, before making late ground when third last Saturday night.
Bobby The Brute will exit box six on Saturday, with the toughest to beat shaping as Jeff Britton’s last start G1 Maturity Classic placegetter Mr. Fix It in box two.
“He’s drawn a bit wide for him,” Pursell said.
WATCH: Bobby The Brute (4) continues his remarkable return from a lengthy spell when clocking a BOD 29.84sec at The Meadows on July 14.
“He wants the fence and he’s not a great beginner so he’s going to need a bit of luck somewhere along the way.
“I’d rather be drawn in one or two – like them all – but I think he can still win. The dog can win anything if he gets in the right position.
“He was going well over 600m before he was hurt and I’ll step him back up again soon. I might even start after this weekend because he should be right with three 500s under his belt.
“I’d like to try him over ‘700’ if he stays sound. He might go a bit hard in the middle but you never know until you try them.”
With Bobby The Brute leading the way, Pursell will have a strong contingent in action at The Meadows, also featuring My Bro Fabio x Call Me Gee littermates Call Me Buster (5 from 12), Grace’s Spirit (6 from 20) and Call Me Chloe (5 from 18), along with the unbeaten Gold Symbol (2 from 2).
“Grace’s Spirit has probably done the most so far,” Pursell offered.
“She came out of the Pink Diamond final (Champion Distance) with a bit of a problem but she’s had a couple of trials. She gets a bit of ground and I want to get her up to 700m eventually.
“Call Me Buster’s last couple of runs have been super even though he hasn’t won. His run last week was ridiculous; he just needs to get out of the boxes.
“Gold Symbol is one of a couple of pups my partner (Emma Wardlaw) bought from NSW and so far, so good!”
