Ken Casellas | Photo: Hamilton Content Creators
Deni Roberts, who is enjoying a purple patch in the sulky, has given punters a vital lead by choosing to drive Steel The Show in the $22,000 www.aaronbainracing.com.au Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
She opted to handle the Greg and Skye Bond-trained Steel The Show ahead of smart stablemates Jett Star and Vulcan Star, each of whom she has driven to victory in recent weeks.
“I know how good Jett Star is, while Steel The Show is still a bit unknown, and it will be nice to see something test him, and see how good he is,” said the 27-year-old Roberts, who has driven 35 winners this season and is in third place on the State’s drivers’ premiership table, behind Gary Hall Jnr (41 winners) and Shannon Suvaljko (40).
Roberts has driven the New Zealand-bred Steel The Show at his first three Australian starts for three impressive victories when he set the pace from barriers five, three and one. He will start from the No. 6 barrier in a field of seven on Friday night, with Jett Star (Dylan Egerton-Green) at barrier two and Vulcan Star (Gary Hall Jnr) at barrier four.
Jett Star produced a powerful performance last Friday night when he raced in the breeze before surging to the front in the home straight to win by 5m from Vulcan Star, rating 1.54.6 over the 1730m trip, with final quarters of 28.7sec. and 27.8sec.
Vulcan Star ran on from the one-out, one-back position when he finished second to Steel The Show over 2130m the previous week. He was an all-the-way winner from Ifeel Sikdarl at his previous outing.
Roberts and the Bonds also have bright prospects with Minstrel in the Governor’s Cup, Street Hawk in the in the Eighteen Carat Pace, Dont Bother Me None in the www.summitbloodstock.com Pace and Raven Banner in the Join ABR And Summit At The Nullarbor Handicap.