Ken Casellas | Photo: PACEPIX
New Zealand-bred colt Lusaka, who finished third to the star youngster Never Ending in the Golden Slipper 13 months ago, is preparing in fine style for another clash with that gelding in the $200,000 WA Derby on November 3.
Three-year-old Lusaka, raced by Team Bond and trained by Greg and Skye Bond, lined up against older and more experienced pacers in the 2130m $1.25 Million The Nullarbor Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night when he gave an impressive performance to win from the highly-rated four-year-old Star Casino.
“His three runs leading into the Derby have been super,” said Greg Bond. “He will have another run before the Derby, in the $50,000 Western Gateway Pace in a fortnight, with Derby two weeks after that.
“We are going to have to lock horns with Never Ending at some stage, and I’m not saying we’re going to beat him, but hopefully we will make him earn it. He won against older horses first-up and then he sat parked and ran second to El Casanova. Tonight, he beat his older rivals again.
“The logic behind our planning has been that we wanted to give him some racing against older horses to try to toughen him up.
“Tonight, Lusaka was involved in a quick lead time of 35.9sec. and then Deni (Roberts) had to pop (out from the one-out, one-back position) a bit earlier than we would’ve liked (three wide 1000m from home) when the traffic was coming.
“He is brave. He then sat in the breeze and just parked there before Deni gave him his head down the back, and he toughed it out, really good.” Lusaka worked his way to the front 250m from home and beat Star Casino by a head, with that pacer impressing in sustaining a three-wide burst from the 1200mLusaka rated a smart 1.56.3.
Meanwhile, Never Ending, a winner at eleven of his twelve starts, will run in the South Western Derby at Bunbury on Wednesday when he should have little trouble in beating his three rivals.
Lusaka, a colt by Sweet Lou, won at his only start in New Zealand and now has raced 13 times in WA for nine wins and three placings.
“He came available, and I had a look at him, and I liked what I saw,” said Bond. “So, we were able to buy him, and he wasn’t an expensive horse. Now he has well and truly paid for himself. There is a fair bit of bottom to him, and he’s also got speed.”