Ken Casellas | Photo: PACEPIX
Outstanding driver Deni Roberts thought long and hard as she wrestled with making a choice of which Greg and Skye Bond-trained three-year-old she would handle in the $200,000 Sky Racing WA Derby at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
The Bond stable holds a powerful hand in the rich classic with five top-flight pacers in the field of twelve — Vegas Strip, Tualou, Christopher Dance, Thenu Came Along and Golden Lode.
And finally, Roberts reached a decision after making a choice between Christopher Dance, Vegas Strip and Tualou.
“I was tossing up between the three of them before opting for Christopher Dance,” she said. “The draw on the outside of the front line doesn’t look pretty, but Christopher Dance is all class.
“Vegas Strip has very good gate speed, and No. 1 is a perfect draw. I have a big opinion of Tualou, who is probably a little bit greener of the bunch. But he has a lot of ability and is tough, and barrier four is an alright draw.”
Chris Lewis will drive Vegas Strip, Dylan Egerton-Green will handle Tualou, Maddison Brown will drive Thenu Came Along from barrier two on the back line, and Donald Harper has been engaged for Golden Lode (outside of the back line).
Christopher Dance, a colt by Sweet Lou, is unbeaten at his two appearances in WA after racing seven times in New Zealand for two wins and three placings.
He began from barrier six in the group 3 Western Gateway last Friday week when he raced three wide for the first 300m, challenged unsuccessfully for the lead and then raced in the breeze as the polemarker Menemsha set a solid pace.
Christopher Dance then took the lead 350m from home and held on to win by a head from Vegas Strip, who began from barrier five and enjoyed an ideal passage, one-out and one-back, before finishing strongly. The final 800m was covered in 56.8sec. and the winner rated 1.56.5 over 2536m.
Tualou trailed the pacemaker all the way and was hampered for room in the closing stages when an unlucky fifth, while Golden Lode ran on from sixth at the bell to finish fourth. Thenu Came Along began out wide at barrier eight and raced at the rear before finishing eighth.
Thenu Came Along earned a Derby start last Friday night when he set the pace from the No. 1 barrier before dashing away from his eleven rivals to win over 2130m, beating Menemsha by five and a half lengths.
Menemsha began from barrier seven and settled down in ninth place before sustaining a spirited three-wide burst from seventh at the bell.
Menemsha will start from the inside of the back line on Friday night, with his trainer-reinsman Aiden De Campo saying: “It’s a perfect draw for him. He is building all the time, and I’ve got him as good as I can, physically. Now he just needs to apply himself a bit more mentally.”
Champion reinsman Gary Hall Jnr predicted a strong performance from the inexperienced Alta Tribute, who will start from the No. 2 barrier.
“Two was a good draw until Vegas Strip drew one,” said Hall. “If he had drawn to lead, I think he would have given it a good shake. He is good out of the gate and is pretty tough, so I’d like to hold my spot. He’s not impossible.”