Roberts aims to go one better
Twelve months ago, Deni Roberts drove Lusaka into second place in the Westen Gateway Pace, and she has high hopes of going one better at Gloucester Park on Friday night by guiding exciting colt Christopher Dance to victory in the $50,000 group 3 Western Gateway Pace for three-year-olds.
Christopher Dance, prepared by leading trainers Greg and Skye Bond, is awkwardly drawn at barrier No. 6 in the 2536m event, the same barrier as the Bond-trained Lusaka had when he was restrained to the rear at the start before sustaining a spirited burst from twelfth (and last) at the bell to finish second to Mister Smartee a year ago.
Interestingly, when Roberts made her first appearance in the Western Gateway, in October 2022, she drove $126 outsider Rollindowntheriver from the No. 6 barrier. She restrained the gelding to the rear, and he battled on into ninth place behind Tricky Miki.
From the No. 6 barrier on Friday night Roberts will leave her options open and will determine her tactics when the mobile barrier sends the field of 12 on its way.
Christopher Dance, a New Zealand-bred colt by outstanding American sire Sweet Lou, has revealed his wonderful versatility during his eight-start career of three wins and three placings.
At his Australian debut in a 2130m event at Gloucester Park on Tuesday of last week, Christopher Dance was not bustled out from out wide at barrier seven before strolling to the front after 600m and coasting to victory by three and a half lengths from Mikis Pride, rating 1.57.7 after final quarters of 28.7sec. and 27.5sec.
In a 2185m trial at Pinjarra the previous week Christopher Dance burst straight to the front from the No. 5 barrier and set the pace before winning, unextended, by seven and half lengths, from Tommy Price.
His final appearance in New Zealand was in the 2700m Northern Derby at Alexandra Park on March 22 this year when he began from barrier four on the back line in the field of 13. He was not pushed out, and settled down in tenth position before dashing forward, three wide, with 1400m to travel before bursting to the front at the bell and finishing second, beaten by a head by Cold Chisel, who ran home strongly along the inside.
Greg Bond prepared Ohokas Bondy for his victory in the Western Gateway in 2011, and Bond and his wife Skye were the successful trainers when Mitch Maguire won the race in 2017.
The Bond stable has a powerful representation in this week’s event, with five runners --- Christopher Dance, Golden Lode, Vegas Strip, Thenu Came Along and Tualou, with each of them having been driven by Roberts at their most recent start.
Golden Lode, a superb winner last Friday night, will start from the favourable barrier two with Donald Harper in the sulky. Chris Lewis will drive Vegas Strip (barrier five), Trent Wheeler will handle Thenu Came Along (barrier eight), and Dylan Egerton-Green will drive Tualou (from the inside barrier on the back line).
Lewis will be seeking a record seventh victory in the Western Gateway. He has won the race with Flashing Star (1993), Pro Armbro (1995), Saab (1998), Talladega (2000), Alberta Retreat (2005) and Lavra Joe (2021).
Gary Hall jnr, who has won the event with Alta Christiano (2013), Beaudiene Boaz (2015), Chicago Bull (2016), Tricky Miki (2022) and Mister Smartee (2023), will drive the smart but comparatively inexperienced gelding Alta Tribute, who faces a stiff task from out wide at barrier seven for trainer Gary Hall snr, who has won the feature event a record seven times.
Alta Tribute won convincingly at his first four starts (at Gloucester Park in August and September) and was an excellent second last Friday night when beaten a neck by Golden Lode, who charged home from last at the bell.
Baskerville trainer Ryan Bell did not have much luck in the random barrier draw with Franco Encore (Ryan Warwick) drawing the outside (No. 9) on the front line and Waverider (Kyle Symington) at the outside of the back line of three runners.
Waverider, a winner at seven of his 14 starts, has resumed after a spell in sound form and is capable of a bold showing at his first appearance for six weeks --- when he set the pace and finished a neck second to Bet The House in the group 2 Westbred Classic.
Hall gives his fans a good lead
Not only does champion reinsman Gary Hall jnr have to make a split-second decision during a race which ultimately determines the result, but he is frequently called on to make a tough choice on drives that influences his legion of faithful fans.
The 42-year-old maestro commands a massive following, and punters will surely be swayed by his thoughts on race two at Gloucester Park on Friday night, the $23,000 Gary Hall Jnr Ultimate Driver Series Slot Pace over 2130m.
Hall was nominated to drive Love On The Rocks, Im The Black Flash and Rolling Fire, and his decision to handle the Justin Prentice-trained Rolling Fire comes as a strong and significant indication of his confidence in the four-year-old’s ability to win at his first appearance for 17 weeks.
Indeed, Hall has good reason to pick Rolling Fire ahead of Love On The Rocks and Im The Black Flash, who are trained by his father Gary Hall snr.
Rolling Fire has a remarkable 100 per cent winning record when racing first-up for Prentice --- scoring on debut at Pinjarra in March 2022, at Gloucester Park in August 2022, at Pinjarra in April 2023, at Bunbury in July 2023 and at Gloucester Park in February this year.
Hall has driven Rolling Fire at six of his eleven wins from 26 starts, and Friday night marks the start of his campaign which is aimed at the $200,000 Golden Nugget on December 13.
Trent Wheeler has been engaged to drive Love On the Rocks, who has drawn the prized No. 1 barrier, and Maddison Brown will handle Im The Black Flash from the No. 6 barrier.
Hall has driven Love On The Rocks at the New Zealand-bred seven-year-old’s first three starts in WA for a win, a second and a third placing. In New Zealand the gelding’s 37 starts produced seven wins and ten placings (including two thirds behind Ragazzo Mach).
Im The Black Flash, an easy last-start winner at Gloucester Park last Friday week, has won at eleven of his 24 starts, with Hall in the sulky for nine of those victories.
Hall, who was inducted into the WA Racing Industry Hall Of Fame in 2019, achieved an important milestone at Gloucester Park last month when he notched his 4000TH driving success on a night in which he landed six winners, one short of his Australian record for the most number of wins at a metropolitan-class meeting.
After a double at Narrogin on Tuesday night Hall’s tally of winners is 4009, and this took his season’s tally to 134. This his 20TH consecutive season that he has recorded a century of winners.
He is currently at the head of the metropolitan leading drivers’ list with 83 winners --- two ahead of Shannon Suvaljko and four in front of Deni Roberts. He has headed the metropolitan list 15 times, and is in second place behind Fred Kersley jnr, who topped the list 17 times. Hall has driven 2738 city winners, of which 1785 have been in metro class events.
Hall has been a shining light since his first drive, in a C2-class 2650m mobile event at Pinjarra on July 26, 1998, the day he celebrated his 16TH birthday by guiding New Zealand-bred gelding Enhancer to victory over Of Auld Aberdeen.
Since then, his successes include three Interdominion championships with Im Themightyquinn, nine WA Pacing Cups, nine Fremantle Cups, six WA Derbies, a record five Australian Pacing championships, and dozens of rich feature events.
He is a genuine superstar, a humble and self-effacing champion who amazes and delights harness racing fans with his remarkable skill, flair and ingenuity in the sulky.
He is cool, calm, composed and calculating as he weaves his magic, driving with the precision of a Swiss watchmaker and with the dash and flair of a Spanish matador.
A laid-back character with a special affinity with horses, Hall admits that, at times, he suffers from nerves. But he is the ultimate professional when it comes to his preparation for the tasks at hand.
Steno gets her chance
Speedy pacer Steno has set the pace and won at 14 of her 19 victories in her 42-start career, and trainer-driver Jocelyn Young will be determined to take full advantage of her prized No. 1 barrier and her sparkling frontrunning ability in the $50,000 Schrader Free-For-All for mares over 2130m at Gloucester Park on Friday night in an all-out bid to beat arch rival Aardiebytheseaside.
Aardiebytheseside trailed the pacemaking Steno in the 2536m Empress Stakes in April this year before getting to the front 110m from the post and beating that mare by a length, and then at her next outing, six months later, over 2130m at Gloucester Park last Friday week, she finished fourth behind the frontrunning Aardiebytheseaside.
Steno is sure to be improved greatly by that first-up effort when she began speedily from the No. 5 barrier but was then quickly restrained as Aardiebytheseaside mustered good pace from barrier four to get to the front after 250m.
Young was quick to get Steno into the favourable one-out, one-back position, but the four-year-old was shuffled back by the breeze runner to seventh. She improved to fifth at the bell before starting a three wide burst 600m from home, and she fought on to finish fourth behind Aardiebytheseaside.
Aardiebytheseaside, trained by Greg and Skye Bond, and to be driven by Deni Roberts, faces a stern task from the outside barrier (No. 9) on the front line. She has won eight races in succession, beginning with a victory at her final appearance in New Zealand and followed by seven in a row at Gloucester Park.
Adding interest to Friday night’s race will be the appearance of the classy, lightly-raced seven-year-old Starlight Dream, who has resumed after a spell in top shape for trainer-reinsman Donald Harper, scoring brilliant victories at her first two outings after a four-month break.
Starlight Dream, who will begin from the outside barrier (No. 3) on the back line, finished brilliantly from 11TH and last at the 600m to beat Pocket The Change and Peaceful three Fridays ago, and then she revealed her versatility with a smart all-the-way win over Little Darling last Friday night, rating 1.55 over 2130m.
Focus on OK Boomer
Victorian businessman Mick Andreadis was at Flemington last month cheering for champion galloper Mr Brightside when he won the Makybe Diva Stakes for the second time and taking his earnings past $14 million, and on Friday night he will be taking a keen interest in race one at Gloucester Park.
Andreadis (41) is a part-owner of Mr Brightside, who has had 38 starts for 7 wins and 12 placings and is one of the fancies for the %5 million Cox Plate at Moonee Valley next Saturday.
He is also a part-owner with WA trainer-reinsman Lindsay Harper of four-year-old pacer OK Boomer, who should prove hard to beat from the No. 3 barrier in the $19,000 Sky Racing Pace over 2130m at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
OK Boomer, a four-year-old New Zealand-bred gelding by Bettors Delight, has had two starts in WA for a first-up seventh followed by a smart victory at Gloucester Park on Tuesday of last week when he overcame the disadvantage of a wide draw at barrier seven to beat Henwood Bay by a half-length.
He raced four wide early before moving to the breeze after 450m and then gaining the one-out, one-back sit 400m later, and then starting a three-wide move 500m from home and getting to the front 120m from the post.
“I think he is a high-quality all-round horse with the ability to carry him a long way,” said Harper.
OK Boomer has raced 31 times eight wins, ten placings and $123,479. He has won twice in New Zealand, once in Victoria, four times in Queensland and once in WA.
Mr Brightside has won seven group 1 events, and last year he also finished seconds in the Cox Plate, King Charles Stakes and Champions Mile.
OK Boomer will clash with the likely favourite Gee Heza Sport, a New Zealand-bred six-year-old who will be making his first appearance in WA for leading trainers Greg and Skye Bond and star driver Deni Roberts.
Gee Heza Sport, a Sportswriter gelding, will start from the outside barrier (No. 3) on the back line. He has raced 46 times for seven wins, nine placings and $151,850. His past eight starts have been in stands and he has a losing sequence of 30, with a losing drought of 26 months. He has not been produced at trials in WA.
Gee Heza Sport is sure to appreciate a substantial drop in class after having contested and being unplaced in 18 group feature events in New Zealand.
