In the pinnacle moment for trainer Trevor Rogers, Roulette King stormed to victory in Caulfield’s Alister Clark Stakes over 2000m.
The three-year-old was the eighth Stakes participant for Rogers and provided his first horse to hit the frame in a ‘Black Type’ affair.
After Saturday’s 2000m Group 2 masterclass, the Roulette King team weighs a let-down or campaigns in remaining Derbies such as the Australian Derby, South Australian Derby or Queensland Derby.
Jamie Mott guided the $5.50 Roulette King with a devastating late charge to deny $81 outsider Savisanta by a narrow head margin, Kaye Jay ($21) three-quarters back in third.
“This was his Grand Final. This was the race we set him for,” Rogers said.
“We’ll get him home and see what happens, but he’s a horse for the future so we won’t go knocking him around.
“A Derby, they are things we will talk about with Jamie and the owners and how the horse pulls up, but I’ve got no doubt the horse will pull up well.
“He’s just one of those horses. He gets home and just wants to eat, which is a big plus.”
Rogers, familiar with Roulette King since its foal days, displayed no anxiety over Mott’s rearward tactics with the gelding.
“I was never worried because Jamie has had a lot to do with the horse,” Rogers said.
“When he went out, I said to ride him how you see fit, because you know what you’ve got.
“I could see him over the back that he had a handful of horse, and he was waiting for a bit of clear air down the running and with the turn of foot he’s got, he was always going to be a chance.”
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