William Pike has enjoyed a fruitful Ascot Racing Carnival, riding 25 winners across 11 Saturdays since the start of the season on Saturday 11 October. The champion jockey has elected to stay aboard Apulia in the $1M Group 2 TABtouch Perth Cup on New Year’s Day at Ascot Racecourse.
William Pike has enjoyed a fruitful Ascot Racing Carnival, riding 25 winners across 11 Saturdays since the start of the season on Saturday 11 October. His standout victories include the W.A. Guineas aboard King Of Light, the Railway Stakes on Watch Me Rock, The Gold Rush with Rey Magnerio and, most recently, last Saturday’s Ted Van Heemst Stakes on Apulia.
The champion jockey has elected to stay aboard Apulia in the $1M Group 2 TABtouch Perth Cup on New Year’s Day at Ascot Racecourse. Pike said the decision was straightforward following the 5YO’s last-start victory.
“I just found it too difficult to hop off a horse that I won on last start, and that’s the factor that swayed me,” Pike said.
Trained by Ben, Will and JD Hayes, Apulia will carry 58.5kg in the 2400m feature and currently sits at the top of TABtouch’s futures market at $2.40.
Despite the weight, Pike is unconcerned. Only Delicacy in 2016 has won the Perth Cup this century carrying more than 56.5kg, but Pike believes modern conditions have shifted the landscape.
“His win was strong and the weight scale, in general, is a lot higher this year than in years gone by,” he said. “Since the race changed from 3200 metres to 2400 metres in 2009, the scale has become a lot more forgiving.”
