Ken Casellas | Race Replay
Outstanding driver Deni Roberts faces a perplexing situation later this week when she will have to make a difficult choice between Mad Monday and Golden Lode as her drive in the $50,000 Four and Five-Year-Old Championship at Gloucester Park next Friday night.
She was full of praise for Mad Monday after driving the star four-year-old to an emphatic victory in the $31,000 Bridge Bar Pace over 2130m at Gloucester Park on Friday night, but she also has a high opinion of the brilliant five-year-old Golden Lode, whose past two runs have resulted in a second to Max Delight in the Nullarbor slot race and a second to Magnificent Storm in the Fremantle Cup.
The stablemates are prepared by champion trainers Greg and Skye Bond, who are expected to also nominate Belly Up and Thelittle Master for next Friday’s feature event.
“Mad Monday’s work during the week was out of this world,” declared Roberts before driving the gelding, the $2.70 favourite, to a most impressive win on Friday night. “He is a brilliant frontrunner, and it was nice to see him come from behind. He is the full package.”
Mad Monday has a winning sequence of five, including successes at his four starts as a four-year-old. A $41,000 purchase by Team Bond at the 2023 Melbourne Nutrien yearling sale, Mad Monday has earned $166,078 from ten wins and five placings from 23 starts.
The New Zealand-bred Golden Lode has amassed $489,308 from 13 wins and 17 placings from 48 starts.
On Friday night Mad Monday was making his first appearance in Free-For-All company, and he passed the test with flying colours. He began from the No. 2 barrier on the back line and Roberts did not bustle him early and he settled down in eighth place while the $4 second fancy Bettors Pride was setting the pace after a fast lead time of 36.1sec. during which he had to work hard to get to the front from the polemarker and $5.50 chance Im Lightning Banner.
Roberts bided her time before sending Mad Monday forward, out three wide, with about 300m to travel. The gelding sprinted quickly, got to the front 50m from the post and beat Im Lightning Banner by just under a length, with Bettors Pride a close-up third.