Ken Casellas | Photo: PACEPIX
Brilliant driver Deni Roberts has handled outstanding pacer Vegas Strip eight times for eight wins, and she has high hopes of continuing this wonderful sequence when she drives the gelding in the $50,000 John Higgins Memorial at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Roberts (28) also has an unbeaten record in the Higgins Memorial, having been successful at her only two appearances in this event, scoring with See Ya Write in 2021 and Peter Petrify last year.
Both of those winners were prepared by champion trainers Greg and Skye Bond, who train Vegas Strip. The Bond stable also has won the Higgins with Money Magnet (2004), Richard Henry (2005), Delightful Offer (2015) and Rock Diamonds (2017).
With a treble at Gloucester Park on Monday and a double at Bunbury on Tuesday night to take her season’s tally of winners to 99, Roberts is poised to notch her century on Friday night.
Very few three-year-olds have qualified to run in the 29-year history of the Higgins Memorial, but the Bonds have had great success with this age group, having won the race with three-year-olds Richard Henry, Delightful Offer and Rock Diamonds. The stable’s other three Higgins winners were four-year-olds.
The only other three-year-old to win the Higgins was Hail The Judge, who was trained by Ross Olivieri and driven by Chris Lewis when he beat Bay Admiral in August 1997.
Apart from their six Higgins winners the Bond stable has prepared second placegetters Condrieu (twice), Courage Tells and the $126 outsider Markham Eyre, who was beaten by Mr Fantastic in 2022.
The New Zealand-bred Vegas Strip has drawn awkwardly at barrier seven in Friday night’s 2130m event. The American Ideal gelding has set the pace in all of his nine starts in Western Australia for eight wins and a close second to Grevis as a two-year-old.
The No. 7 barrier will leave Roberts with plenty of options, with the driver saying: “His work at home has been good. He had it pretty tough first-up (two starts ago when he led and beat Bet the House by a neck over 2130m at Gloucester Park) and then had it pretty soft (when he won comfortably from Bellissimo Acquisto in a 2242m Higgins heat at Narrogin).
“Vegas Strip has really good gate speed and he is probably the quickest we’ve got (at the Bond stable) and I think he is one of the quickest here (in WA).
“He always finds himself in front, but I would love to sit him up one night because he is absolutely electrifying. This will be a test for him at his first run against older horses.”
Whataretheodds and Sorridere loom large as Vegas Strip’s most serious rivals, with the Ryan Bell-trained Whataretheodds a major hope after drawing the prized No. 1 barrier.
Five-year-old Whataretheodds has had 25 starts for eight wins, eight seconds and two thirds. He is versatile, having won after setting the pace and also when finishing with a powerful burst from the rear.
Whataretheodds began from out wide at barrier seven in a 2130m event last Friday night when he raced in sixth position in the one-wide line before dashing forward approaching the home turn and then wilted to finish third behind Coney Island Lou.
“I think I was a bit easy on him before last week’s race,” said his trainer Ryan Bell. “He pulled up bucking and carrying on the next morning, and he will be top notch this week.”
Four-year-old Sorridere, trained and driven by Aiden De Campo, will begin from the No. 4 barrier on Friday night and should fight out the finish. He was the fastest to begin from barrier six last Friday night when he then had to work hard in the breeze before fading to fifth behind Coney Island Lou.
“He wasn’t suited in the breeze last week and he should be spot on this week,” said De Campo.
At his previous start Sorridere led from barrier two and held on to win a 2100m heat of the Higgins by a nose from Whataretheodds at Bunbury.
Hale Saint Louis, trained and driven by Dylan Egerton-Green, ran home strongly to finish third in the heat at Bunbury. He is a smart and versatile four-year-old who has raced 18 times for eight wins and seven placings. He is capable of fighting out the finish despite starting from the outside of the back line.