Wizard needs prod to cast spell in east
WILLIE Pike is living the life as the ultimate fly-in, fly-out jockey but the farm boy and noted homebody may never have left his home state without a prod from his partner.
The “Wizard of the West” has scored four prized Victorian Group 1s this season and this week jetted to the Gold Coast to partner 2020 Australian Cup winner Fifty Stars in the Group 2 Hollindale Stakes on Saturday.
But chances are he would have remained at home riding in the west – and spending time tending to cows and fixing fences on his 530ha farm in Beaufort River about two hours south-east of Perth – if it wasn’t for his partner Jessica
Valas. Pike was worried about going away, concerned he would desperately miss his partner and kids, Jett, 10, and Aspen, 8, and his familiar home life.
But Valas, a former jockey turned trainer, convinced him to seize the moment.
“That’s how it mostly unfolded, I am probably happier at home and the little extra push from Jess is what made me go away and spend several months in Melbourne,” Pike said, while walking along a Gold Coast beach with his family yesterday.
“The stint I did away in Melbourne was mainly off the back of Jess saying to me ‘you have to go’.
“I’ve had a really good run and I’m grateful but are trainers going to want to have me as a fly-in, fly-out jockey in the future? I don’t know so I probably have to make the most of it while I can.”
While the Gold Coast is known for its nightclubs and party atmosphere, Pike won’t be going anywhere near the famed Surfers Paradise nightclub strip.
“Back Pike, Drink What You Like” has become a famous racing catchphrase but the jockey himself rarely touches alcohol.
When Pike was an apprentice, he swore to his master Jack Cockell that he would never drink or smoke and he has remained true to that vow, apart from perhaps a once-a-year drink.
“When I was in high school we did plenty of camping and drinking on weekends,” Pike said.
“But it just never really took my fancy and I was talking to my boss one day and I promised him I would never smoke or drink.
“I’ve stayed away from it since, me having a drink would be a once a year thing.”
Valas, who was apprenticed to trainer Lindsey Smith in the mid 2000s when her relationship with Pike began, was keen to convince Pike to ride interstate when opportunities presented.
“I’m a bit of a homebody myself but being a jockey can be a limited profession, you don’t know how long you are going to be riding for,” Valas said.
“So I told him he just had to take the good opportunities when they came.
“He is really out of his comfort zone being away, but it has become a bit part and parcel of his life now.
“He is still really grounded and he hasn’t changed as a person. I watch all his rides and I will tell him what I think if I reckon he has ridden one badly.”
So could there be another jockey in the Pike family tree?
Young Jett and Aspen both have ponies but it is Aspen who Pike thinks may have already fallen in love with the racing game.
“She’s a real goer – and she seems to love it,” Pike said.
“But my son is different, he says he wants to be a farmer.”
The little extra push from Jess is what made me go Pike on riding interstate