Death-defying bush galloper out to beat the odds at Randwick

Scone trainer Jeremy Gask was told a couple of times that Who Ever Thought might have to be put down as a series of unfortunate events delayed his racing debut until he was five.

Now almost seven, the gelding’s fighting qualities will be called on again when he faces his greatest challenge on the track at Randwick on Saturday.

Who Ever Thought winning the Highway Handicap at Rosehill on October 12, 2024.Credit: Getty Images

Who Ever Thought, a Highway Handicap winner at Rosehill last October, steps up out of country-only grade on a Saturday when he races in a benchmark 78 handicap (1600m), following wins at Scone and Canterbury.

A $27 chance with Sportsbet from the outside gate with Tom Sherry aboard, Who Ever Thought will have to defy the odds, but Gask says that’s nothing new.

“There were a couple of times that the vet suggested we might have to put him down,” said Gask, a former Adelaide horseman who spent 10 years training in England before moving to the Upper Hunter in 2018.

“He had a spider bite to a leg and another to a sheath. He got his leg stuck in a stable as a young horse and nearly lost his hind fetlock. He impaled his chest, running into a fence, we think, during a storm at night.

Red Rags To Bulls winning the Highway Handicap at Rosehill two weeks ago.Credit: Getty Images

“Through that time, he never got close to racing. I probably never galloped him until he was four.

“He’s probably become a bit of a favourite because of all that, and he’s got a few hang ups. He’s a bit quirky.”

Who Ever Thought has had only 16 starts, for six wins and three placings, and Gask hopes his patient approach will pay off again.

“He’s probably got to step up in this grade, but has to. He has nowhere else to go now,” he said.

‘There were a couple of times that the vet suggested we might have to put him down.’

“He just keeps taking a little step every time we serve it up to him, so I don’t know where the ceiling is with him.

“He’ll roll forward. I’m not certain he has to lead, but he likes a bit of space, so I’d rather draw wide with him. He can travel across, and he’s a big-striding horse and not one that will quicken off a slow speed. He needs to work into it.”

Gask trains a small team, predominantly for owner Michael Abdallah. That combination has another chance on Saturday with Red Rags To Bulls, which will strive for back-to-back Highway Handicap wins.

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Red Rags To Bulls took out a 1500m class 3 at Rosehill two weeks ago and was an $8 hope to repeat the result over 1600m, again with apprentice Ben Osmond aboard.

Gask believed the four-year-old, a granddaughter of his South Australian Oaks runner-up Tingirana, would be better over the increased distance.

Meanwhile, Godolphin on Friday announced new stables for many of their top gallopers as they switch to a public training model next season, following James Cummings’ move to Hong Kong in 2026.

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