Bobbin hails friends’ aid after fire scare
Thankful trainer Andrew Bobbin has praised racing industry friends for their support on Tuesday as Mother Nature spared Grampians Racing from bushfire.
Bobbin had extra trucks and floats on standby to evacuate the 80 horses on the property, but strong winds pushed the damaging Pomonal fire in the other direction.
“(Evacuation) was going to be a pretty big job, but a special thanks to numerous trainers and pre-trainers, spelling farms and transport companies that all offered their floats and trucks,” Bobbin said.
“The beauty of the industry, we all stick together, but luckily we didn’t need the help this time. We were fortunate it never, ever got to the decision we had to jump and run.”
Pomonal, about 5km southwest of Grampians Racing, copped the worst of the fire.
“Our neighbours down the road copped the full brunt of it,” Bobbin said.
“The village down the road at Pomonal, there’s plenty of damage done there. I went for a drive about 3am this morning, only a minute and a half from the farm, and there was fire either side of the road … just flames and all burnt out.”
Meanwhile, Bobbin has Thailess engaged in the Group 3 The TAB Vanity on Saturday at Flemington.
The pacy filly “well and truly up in class” has won a Hamilton maiden and Benchmark 62 in Adelaide the past two starts.
“She’s hard and tough, certainly fit, so why not give the owner-breeder Bill Gee from Warrnambool, who pays 100 per cent of the bill, the opportunity to have a filly he bred go around in a race with the possibility of some black type,” Bobbin said. “She was headed in both wins at some point in the straight and has fought back, she looks to go her best when she’s rolling along and when there’s a fight on she’s certainly up for it.”