Ken Casellas | Photo: PACEPIX
Star driver Deni Roberts heaped praise on Aardiebytheseaside after driving her to an effortless victory in the $27,000 TABradio.com.au Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Starting at the prohibitive odds of $1.04, the big New Zealand-bred mare gave Roberts an armchair drive as she set the pace and coasted home three lengths ahead of her Greg and Skye Bond-trained stablemate Sista Sammy, a $31 chance who raced four back on the pegs in the Indian file event.
Aardiebytheseaside dashed over the final 400m sections in 28.7sec. and 28.2sec. and rated 1.56.7 over 2130m.
“She’s exciting and she covers the ground so easily,” said Roberts. “It feels like she’s doing two to their one.”
Aardiebytheseaside is unbeaten at her five starts in Western Australia and she is sure to take a power of beating in the $100,000 Norms Daughter Classic over 2130m on November 8 and the $150,000 Mares Classic over 2536m on November 15. As a group winner she is not eligible to contest the WASBA event for four and five-year-old mares next Friday night.
“The aim will be for her to race fortnightly to keep her nice and fresh,” said Roberts, who is not discounting Aardiebytheseaside contesting the $200,000 Golden Nugget over 2536m on December 13.
“She will have to race the boys eventually, and I think, considering the times she can run, she is capable of holding her own in races like the Nugget.
“At her first run in WA (in the Empress Stakes in April this year) she rated 1.54.6 over 2536m which was quicker than Catch A Wave’s rate of 1.55.7 over the same distance on the same night. So, looking at her times you can’t say why she can’t run in the Nugget.”