Jeavons Racing locks in Justcallmemiki for Nullarbor

The final slot for the 2026 $1.25 million The Nullarbor has been announced, with Jeavons Racing selecting Justcallmemiki.

A five-year-old gelding trained by Greg and Skye Bond, Justcallmemiki joins stablemates Minstrel and Golden Lode, who are representing the Team Bond #1 and Team Bond #2 slots.

Prominent owner Kevin Jeavons had to quickly pivot in his decision-making after his first choice, Waverider, suffered a minor setback following the Bunbury Cup (2569m) won by Magnificent Storm. Waverider finished last of the nine runners.

“He had a setback and you need to be 100%. He went sensationally at Pinjarra, but not so well at Bunbury. We have a good replacement in Justcallmemiki,” Jeavons said.

When asked about the decision to select Justcallmemiki, Jeavons said he was impressed with the gelding’s narrow second in the Group 1 Golden Nugget (2536m) in November. The Golden Nugget was captured by the Jeavons-owned Waverider.

“[He] was the one. He ran second in the Nugget. He’s trained by really good trainers. He was our next choice,” Jeavons said.

With The Nullarbor approaching, Jeavons tried to give Waverider as much time as possible to see if he would be ready for the feature event.

“Waverider needs a couple of weeks,” he said.

“Because he wasn’t quite right, we delayed our decision.”

Jeavons has a lot of respect for his opposition which includes six locally trained horses and four interstate visitors. He plans to let Greg and Skye Bond, along with the driver, determine the race tactics following the barrier draw.

“In the big races, people can put too much thought into tactics – each driver is out there to win. [I’ll] leave it to the Bonds to make the decision as they know the horse well,” he said.

“It’ll be difficult to land on the podium. Minstrel stands out to me.”

Justcallmemiki has had 28 career starts for 12 wins and four minor placings. He won the Group 3 Chandon 4YO Classic (2130m) at his first start in Western Australia. He also contested the 2025 The Nullarbor, failing to beat a runner home in the field of 10.

Jeavons Racing has finished third in The Nullarbor on two occasions. In 2023, the Gary Hall Snr-trained Jumpingjackmac was placed behind Betterzippit and Spirit Of St Louis. The following year, the slot went to Jeavons’ own horse Swingband, trained by Ryan Bell. That edition was won by Catch A Wave who defeated Minstrel and Swingband.

 

by Trent Orwin for Harnesslink