WA speed demon Bravo Centurion shooting for seventh straight win in Group 1 Winterbottom Stakes at Ascot

Bravo Centurion will give his rivals something to catch as the WA speedster aims up for his seventh consecutive win in Saturday’s Group 1 Winterbottom Stakes.

WA speed machine Bravo Centurion will be shooting for his seventh successive win on Saturday and trainer Luke Fernie insists the Group 1 Winterbottom Stakes mission is not just a throw at the stumps.

There’s no doubt Bravo Centurion, who has produced frontrunning wins in Listed and Group 3 races in the latest of his six-race winning streak, will have to step up several notches in the 1200m Group 1.

• PUNT LIKE A PRO: Become a Racenet iQ member and get expert tips – with fully transparent return on investment statistics – from Racenet’s team of professional punters at our Pro Tips section. SUBSCRIBE NOW!

But it’s worth listening to Fernie who is more confident going in to the Winterbottom with Bravo Centurion as a $10 chance on Saturday than he was with Ripcord who finished third in the race last year after starting as a $6.50 chance.

Bravo Centurion has been backed from $15 into $10 during the week.

“I reckon this bloke is more of a chance this year than what Ripcord was last year,” Fernie told Racenet.

“I felt there was not a hell of a lot of tempo in the race last year for Ripcord last year and I didn’t think he got into that race that well.

“Whereas this bloke has blown the clock up a couple of times.

“And it makes me even more confident knowing that he is going to be on-pace and making his own luck and also knowing that he is just a bulldog who keeps having a crack.”

Bravo Centurion will be aiming up for his seventh consecutive win when he contests the Group 1 Winterbottom Stakes at Ascot on Saturday. Picture: Western Racepix

• EXPERT TIPS: Winterbottom, Festival Stakes, Zipping Classic

Fernie, a former electrician who quips he gave up the caper because he got too big to fit into roof spaces, is chasing his maiden Group 1.

Four-year-old Bravo Centurion didn’t trouble the scorers in his first two races last year but once Fernie got on top of shin soreness issues which had troubled the gelding, he hasn’t stopped winning.

He doesn’t see barrier 15 of 16 as a major issue for Bravo Centurion, with his horse and favourite Overpass (barrier 16) set to burn across from out wide.

• WATCH: Bjorn spells out why Overpass will again rule the west

“I don’t think the barriers are really going to hurt my horse or Overpass,” Fernie said.

“I was going through and looking at what sort of sectionals these Winterbottom horses run their early sectionals in.

“I reckon my horse and Bjorn Baker’s horse (Overpass) have got the rest of the field covered, speed wise, to get across them.

“I feel like they are both pretty high tempo horses and they will kick off the corner if they are going quick.

“I don’t think anything that’s inside them can go with them and I reckon anything that tries to kick up inside them is just going to bring itself undone.

“My horse will just be running fast, I don’t want to change anything in that regard and neither does the jockey.”

Bravo!

That’s 6 wins – in a row – from 8 starts for Bravo Centurion as the 4YO captures his 2nd stakes race in the Group 3 TABTouch Prince of Wales Stakes over 1000m at Ascot.

From the first of only 3 crops by the late Invincible Spirit stallion, National Defense, Bravo… pic.twitter.com/APFNeuZzLw

— Aushorse (@Aushorse_TBA) November 2, 2024

• Jockey banned from media interviews amid charges

Fernie, who is in the ownership of Bravo Centurion who was a $40,000 purchase as a yearling, knows that Bravo Centurion has only extended to 1200m once in his career.

But he doesn’t see that as a massive challenge.

He and the other owners just want to continue to enjoy the ride – and hope it leads them to an incredible Group 1 triumph.

“This horse keeps raising the bar every time he goes around,” Fernie said.

“You would think he would stop winning at some point, but you just don’t know when that will be.
“I said to the owners that while he is fit, healthy and racing well we might as well just run the gauntlet and have a crack and enjoy it for what it is.

“He has had one crack at 1200m before and he was going to put them away easily and then he didn't know what to do near the finish line and he started baulking out.

“He would have won by a long way if didn’t baulk at finishing line.

“And he certainly didn’t look like he was stopping when he won his last start.”

Originally published as WA speed demon Bravo Centurion shooting for seventh straight win in Group 1 Winterbottom Stakes at Ascot