Rebuilding Gibbons backs Cross Tasman to spearhead Rosehill chances

“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.

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“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.”