Courtesy of Harness Racing Australia
DENI Roberts is coming in hot.
The WA young gun they called the “Duchess” has driven five Group 1 winners – three of them this month.
Now she launches her first Inter Dominion assault at Newcastle on Friday night with two horses, including her “favourite” Minstrel, who delivered the biggest win of her career in the $450,000 Group 1 WA Pacing Cup on November 8. She will also drive Tenzing Bromac through this series.
Fittingly, both pacers are trained by Team Bond (Greg and Skye Bond). Roberts has worked for Team Bond for five years, but only became the stable driver early last year.
Roberts, 29, has combined with Team Bond for her three Group 1 wins this month alone, the WA Derby and last Friday night’s WA Mares’ Classic the others.
It was a late call to attack this series, inked when dual NZ Cup winner Swayzee joined defending champion Leap To Fame on the absentee list.
“It’s a long way to come to take on Leap To Fame and/or Swayzee, but it’s a different story without them,” co-trainer Greg Bond said.
“Minstrel is obviously our top hope, but we’ve always had a good opinion of Tenzing Bromac, too.
“Minstrel’s WA Cup win was as good as he’s ever gone, he’ll thrive on the four runs in a fortnight and he’s so versatile and tough, too.”
The barrier draws give Roberts every chance to strike on night on with Minstrel drawing the pole in the first pacing heat (race three) and Tenzing Bromac in two in the second heat (race four).
Top NSW trainer Jason Grimson has four chances – Curly James, Nerano, District Attorney and Cya Art – to continue his incredible strike rate in the pacing series.
Grimson has won two of the past three Inter Dominion pacing finals – Boncel Benjamin (2021) and I Cast No Shadow (2022) – and finished third with Swayzee in the other (last year).
The X-factor of the pacing series is the NZ-trained late entry, Tact McLeod, who ran two terrific and luckless races in the majors at Addington two weeks ago.
“Just as others have, we saw an opportunity when Leap To Fame and Swayzee weren’t running to have a crack at this series,” trainer Mark Jones said.
“We’ve got a lovely horse still on the rise and he’ll love getting to that big Menangle track at the business end (of the series).”
Tact McLeod, to be driven by Anthony Butt, will need luck from an outside draw (gate eight) at Newcastle.
Like the pacing series, the trotting series is missing Australasia’s champion, Just Believe, winner of the past two finals.
It has opened the series right up and those poised to make early statements on Friday include The Locomotive (gate four) and London To A Brick (five) in the first heat, along with Queen Elida (gate five) and Mufasa Metro (six) in heat two.
Full night one Inter Dominion fields: https://www.harness.org.au/racing/fields/race-fields/?mc=PC301124
PHOTO: Minstrel by Pacepix
