[PHOTO: Western Racepix]
Progressive three-year-old Lord Vampi handled the step up to stakes level with aplomb at Ascot on Saturday when scoring an impressive win in the $125,000 Listed J.C. Roberts Stakes (1800m).
Sent out a $13 chance with a tricky task on paper jumping from barrier 12 and rising 400m in distance three weeks between runs, the Playing God gelding was given a perfect ride by jockey Lucy Fiore to find the back of $2.30 favourite A Lot Of Good Men one-out and three-back in running.
Fiore tracked the favourite in the three-wide line approaching the turn before peeling out underneath him on straightening and Lord Vampi unleashed a brilliant finish to storm past his rivals and win by more than a length on the line.
Alaskan ($21) finished in second place, with Seven Iron ($61) a further neck away in third.
The Oakland Park-bred Lord Vampi has displayed exciting progressiveness in his three starts campaign having finished a luckless second first-up in Class One grade before stepping to Saturday level and winning second-up and then elevating again to land his first Listed success.
The lightly-raced gelding has now had six career starts for three wins, two second placings and $237,410 in stake earnings and Westspeed Platinum bonuses.
Pearce Racing has prepared 48 winners so far in the 2023/24 season, the second-highest tally in WA.
Budgerigar will contest the $125,000 Batavia Sprint (1200m) for the stable at Geraldton today.