Tarzino then Oz for Endless Drama
Tony Pike wants his share of lucrative Aussie features
Tony Pike is preparing for a journey into the unknown and there has never been a better time to go. The Cambridge trainer continued his winter of wonder when veteran Endless Drama staved off a Te Akau Shark attack in the closing stages of the US Navy Flag Foxbridge Plate at Te Rapa on Saturday, the old boy picking up where he left off when a last-start third in the Stradbroke in Brisbane.
That was at the end of a highly lucrative Queensland campaign when Pike also trained Bostonian to win two groups ones, proving even the Australian group one sprinters can be beaten when targeted at the right time.
But like everybody in racing Pike knows the real money and glamour of Australian racing lies in the Sydney and Victorian spring carnivals and he wants his share.
While some Australian racing administrators express dismay at the crazy prize money war between NSW and Victoria and very few mention the fact it is the punters who are doing
most of the paying, those are not Pike’s problems.
There is money on the ground just three or four hours away by plane and he has some horses who can go pick some of it up.
Sure, Endless Drama didn’t set the world on fire when trained by Chris Waller in Sydney but he was still a handy group horse and he has won an Easter and now the Foxbridge for Pike, who seems to have worked out how to keep the majestic son of Lope De Vega happy.
“He will go to the Tarzino (Hastings, August 31) first but after that we can look at Australia,” says Pike.
“We are not kidding ourselves how hard those major races are to win over there but the money in New South Wales is huge and the best horses can’t turn up in every race.
“So there could be races for really big money, especially by New Zealand standards, worth targeting which are within his reach.”
The eastern states of Australia during spring have rarely been on Pike’s radar, with Sacred Elixir having a Guineas and Derby campaign there a few years ago but few others.
“Obviously these carnivals have gotten to be huge over there and with this old fella and Bostonian, we have horses who have earned the right to head over there.
“They are not carnivals we have had a real presence at before but they are impossible to ignore now.”
While Bostonian will predominantly be set for a Victorian sprint campaign, Endless Drama could even get to Australia and keep heading west, all the way to Perth for the A$1 million Winterbottom on November 30.
“So we have a lot of options and we have a couple of horses who are good enough to chase the money. So we will.”
Before then comes the Tarzino, for which Endless Drama is the $3 second favourite behind Te Akau Shark, who was enormous after getting too far back on Saturday.
He is the $2.80 favourite for the Tarzino but with trainer Jamie Richards confirming Te Akau Shark will be heading to Sydney any money invested on him for Hastings will be be wasted.
And while Pike has his eyes on Australia and the potential of making his mark on that stage, he still has some fillies he can’t wait to unleash in New Zealand.
“We have some lovely stock but two fillies in particular I can’t wait to get back and aim at the black type races,” he explains
“Loire is a very good filly and she could be a top Guineas chance, while Kali is a filly we really like and she resumes at Taupo on Wednesday,” Richards said.
“It is a hot field for a Wednesday and she has the outside barrier so whether she can win or not might depend on how the track is playing late in the day.
“But she is pretty good.”