Rebuilding Gibbons backs Cross Tasman to spearhead Rosehill chances

2 months ago 25

By Craig Kerry

January 15, 2026 — 6.00pm

Dylan Gibbons is backing Cross Tasman to go to another level again when he gets a chance aboard the Super Seth gelding, which spearheads his strong book of rides at Rosehill on Saturday.

With many of the leading jockeys on the Gold Coast for the Magic Millions feature day, Gibbons has picked up excellent opportunities at home, including three early favourites.

Dylan Gibbons wearing the Finemore Thoroughbreds colours aboard winner Interjection at Randwick on December 17. He will don them again on Saturday to ride stablemate Cross Tasman.

He rides John O’Shea and Tom Charlton-trained Bev’s Nine ($3.80) and Cross Tasman ($1.90) in the last two races, and two-year-old Thyme To Go ($3.10), a runner-up on debut, in the first for the Annabel and Rob Archibald yard.

Four-year-old Cross Tasman has won three of his six starts, including his two runs this time in. He worked hard to the line to narrowly win a midweek Kensington benchmark 64 handicap (1250m) before cruising to a 2½-length victory at Randwick on Boxing Day in a 1300m benchmark 72.

He jumps to a 1500m benchmark 78 on Saturday, but Gibbons was confident he could handle the rise after solid work this week.

“Normally if they win really well first up, they can be a bit flat second-up, and he seemed to go to another level second-up, so there’s no reason he can’t do that again,” Gibbons said.

“His work during the week suggests he’s in really good order.”

Bev’s Nine, a four-year-old Shalaa mare, has won all three starts and is set to resume at Canterbury on Friday night in a benchmark 72 or at Rosehill in a benchmark 78, both over 1100m.

“Fingers crossed they run it on Saturday, for my sake,” Gibbons said.

“If it goes to Saturday, it’s got to be a great hope. It’s done a great job so far.”

Gibbons, who moved from Newcastle to Sydney last March, is building a strong connection with the O’Shea-Charlton stable at Randwick as he tries to bounce back from an injury-marred season.

Gibbons was out for almost five months with a shoulder injury, restricting him to just 13 city winners last season. That followed 37 winners in town in 2023-24 and 72 in 2022-23, when he finished just four behind good mate Zac Lloyd in the Sydney apprentices’ premiership.

Lloyd leads the senior race this season with 41, and Gibbons is on track to emulate his 2023-24 campaign with 16 approaching the halfway mark.

“Every Tuesday morning I’m in there for [O’Shea and Charlton],” he said of his track-work schedule.

“They’ve been really good, taking me under their wing. I’ve got a nice little job there behind Zac [Lloyd], which is always good. Me and him get to spend Tuesday mornings together mucking around, so it’s good.

“Whoever needs me, I keep it free. I popped in a couple of times for the Price and Kent stable on a Saturday morning, Team Hawkes usually once a week. Bjorn Baker’s team call me if they need me and have always been good supporters. I’ve got a good little base there.

“I just need to work on that, build a few more connections and get the winners up.

“I’m very happy with the way it’s going, but you can always be going better. If I can get the ball rolling a bit more and get up the ranks more, that would be good.

“It’s one of the hardest areas to get winners, but I had a taste of it as an apprentice, having a really good run, so that taste is always with me and I want to try to get back to that.”