Pike juvenile impresses
A pair of debutants cleared out from their more experienced rivals to fini sh 1- 2 in the NZB Insurance Pearl Series 2YO ( 1200m) at Avondale yesterday.
Bostonian, a son of Jimmy Choux out of a half- sister to 10- time group one winner Mufhasa, claimed the well- bred filly Mongolian Beauty in the shadows of the post to score by a long neck, with both runners looking to have bright futures.
Trained by Tony Pike, Bostonian is the first runner the Cambridge conditioner has had for ownerbreeder David Archer.
Bostonian had won a trial on his home track by three and a half lengths in mid- February and was supposed to have made his race day debut earlier in the month. “We’ve been plagued by wet tracks and bad barriers so we’ve scratched him twice prior to today,” Pike said.
“He drew the outside barrier again, but we decided we had to run him, with more rain forecast.
“It was a good win. He was slowly away and had to work hard to get outside the leader and when Mongolian Beauty kicked away, we probably shouldn’t have been able to run her down. I know that Murray [ Baker] and Andrew [ Forsman] rate the second horse.
“Bostonian is a horse we’ve always had an opinion of and he is going to improve as a three- year- old as he is lightly framed and still immature. Former champion jumps jockey Mathew Gillies will be a notable absentee from this winter’s action. The 31- year- old, who won the premiership in 2013- 14, will be sidelined after undergoing knee surgery. “I’ll be out for the season, but I will be looking to come back for the next one,” Gillies said. Jockey Glyn Schofield will miss the second day of The Championships because of a suspension out of the Provincial Championship heat at Goulburn. Unless he wins an appeal, Schofield’s ban will begin on April 2, the day after he is scheduled to ride Prized Icon in the Australian Derby.