Ken Casellas | Photo: Pacepix
Emerging star Steel The Show will make his first appearance in a standing-start event in Western Australia when he lines up as the sole backmarker off 10 metres in the $22,000 Team Bond Pace over 2503m at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
The Bettors Delight six-year-old, trained by Greg and Skye Bond, has created a big impression since arriving in WA late last year, with his seven starts in the State, all in mobiles, resulting in five wins and two fourths, including his strong-finishing fourth behind Betterzippit in the $1 million Nullarbor slot race in April.
Punters should have no fears about supporting Steel The Show, considering that he is a vastly experienced campaigner of 23 standing-start events in New Zealand in which he always got away smoothly.
Those 23 starts produced three wins, six seconds, two thirds and three fourths. Many of those runs were in group feature events, including a splendid fourth behind super stars Copy That and Self Assured and the talented South Coast Arden in the Group 1 New Zealand Cup over 3200m at Addington in November 2021.
It is well worth considering the records of the three pacers who finished ahead of him in that standing-start Cup: Copy That has earned $2,013,926 from 33 wins and 16 placings from 66 starts; Self Assured has raced 57 times for 29 wins and 24 placings for stakes of $2,153,669; and South Coast Arden has had 39 starts for 13 wins, eight placings and $504,022.
Steel The Show, who finished second to Kango (13 wins and $356,640) in the Group 2 Franklin Cup, a 2700m stand in December 2021, has the potential to develop into a giant killer in WA and improve considerably on his current record of 52 starts for eleven wins, 15 placings and $273,658 in prizemoney.
His final appearance in New Zealand further enhanced his reputation as a top-flight pacer of outstanding ability. He was last in the field of five 400m from home before finishing strongly to be second to Copy That, who rated 1.52.3 over 1609m.
Steel The Show will be handled by Deni Roberts, who has driven him at his seven WA outings. He should prove too strong for his five rivals on Friday night, with Watching Our Coin and Ardens Horizon favoured to fill the minor placings.