That may still prove to be the case, but the arrival of the in-form Canadian crew has created a new battle in the event to fill the void left when the Brits waved the white flag. Dave Calder and Scott Frandsen were silver medallists in Beijing and they chose this weekend to serve their intent to threaten New Zealand's supremacy in the pair.
After the race, Bond stressed he and Murray were always expecting to find a stern test in the event and this regatta has only confirmed that sentiment.
"They way the Canadians pushed, and the Greeks and some of the other crews, we're under no illusion that we're going to waltz through this campaign," he said. "We've really got to keep our heads down and keep pushing over these next couple months.
"We were never going to take it easy, but this has really been a wake-up call that we're not going to just completely walk through this."
Bond said that feeling never wavered, even after the absence of the British pair was confirmed.
"You never know - you can only race who turns up. Some good crews turned up today and they're going to keep turning up.
"Come the Olympics, we know the Canadians are going to step it up again, and the Greeks and the Italians and some of the others are going to improve."
Those rivals may also be heartened by Bond's appraisal of his opponents' room for improvement compared to the New Zealanders' own.
"You could say we've been in the pair the longest so, arguably, they've got more room to grow. We've got to keep our heads down and not let up."
In saying that, Bond thought it was a "good start" for the pair, considering the regatta was their first after months of training. And, in case the Canadians or others were feeling the Kiwis were ripe for the picking, Bond sounded a warning.
"To come off the plane and hit the ground running has been quite difficult. I'm hoping, over the next couple of weeks, we sharpen up a bit more and get back to where we were in New Zealand before we left."
