PIKE TAKES OUT ALL THREE FEATURE RACES AT MORNINGTON. WINS THE CUP ON MOUNT POPA

By Matt Moore | Sunday, March 21, 2021

MATT MOORE'S MORNINGTON MEETING RECAP

A field of 6 kicked off Mornington Cup Day in a race for the 2yo’s over the 1500m. We started with the Godolphin runner Micro starting at odds on in the market. Micro and the only filly in the race, the McEvoy trained Swamp Vixen set the speed. With the short straight at Mornington, Jamie Mott aboard Daily Bugle powered over the top of them to take out the opening event.

Race 2 was a Benchmark 84 over the 2000m. The in-form runner coming into the race, the Freedman trained Mahashakti, was scratched on race morning. Scarlet Dream was also scratched which left us with six runners all in single figures. With an average tempo, the two favourites in Grand Promenade and Mohican Heights settled third and fourth respectively. As the speed quickened at the 400, it was Ben Allen aboard Grand Promenade who made the move up to the leaders with Michael Walker aboard Mohican Heights going with him. As they came around the home turn, these two runners made a sprint to the line with Mohican Heights going on to score.

The third event was a Benchmark 70 over the 1200m. By this event there was a clear track bias developing. The winners of the opening two events were 3 or 4 wide and that continued in the third race with the Maher/Eustace runner Incredulous Dream winning with Melbourne Cup winning jockey Jye McNeil in the saddle.

Race 4 was the Benchmark 78 over the 1200m and we saw two break out leaders in the Willie Pike runner Ginger Jones along with Craig Newitt’s runner Music Addition leave the rest of the field for dead. With the track tempo you would have thought Mystery Love who was about 4 lengths off the leaders could have made ground but that wasn’t the case. Pike’s mount skipped away at the 150m to score a convincing win from fellow pace setter Music Addition.

The fifth event was our second sprint race for the card … a benchmark 78 over the 1000m. It was the Johnny Sadler trained Sartorial Splendor who jumped out quickly from the inside gate to lead all the way. Matt Cartwright on board with a 3kg claim doing the trick.

The first feature of this card was the Mornington Guineas which kicked off the quaddie. The WA invader Dom To Shoot came into this race third up after runs in the Group 3 C S Hayes Stakes and The Group 1 Australian Guineas. He was the well fancied favourite and Willie Pike fans weren’t disappointed. He made the punters sweat until the last 20m to record the win. Settling towards the back of the field but, like the champion he his, Pike got his mount going at the 400m rounding the field to claim victory by a neck.

In the next race Pike notched up a race-day treble along with a feature race to race double to take out the Mornington Cup in impressive fashion aboard Mount Popa. Coming into the race as favourite, he put the Team Hawkes runner in the lead from the start and that’s where he stayed, pulling away over the last 100m to score by two and a half lengths. The gelding had some super form coming in winning the Listed Randwick City Stakes the start prior.

The Hareeba Stakes named after the local superstar went again to the inform Willie Pike with a magnificent ride on Laverrod. Ancestry from Gate 1 set a decent tempo. He was pressured by Sirius Suspect along with How Wowmantic. Pike ended up settling his mount third last, 3 wide with limited cover. The lead didn’t change the whole race until Pike made his move on the winner at the turn into the short straight and hit the front with 100m to go on and it make it 4 wins from his 6 rides on his 35th birthday. It capped off a magnificent weekend for the Perth based jockey after taking out Friday night’s Group 1 William Reid Stakes on Masked Crusader for Team Hawkes.

The last race of the day went to the Matt Cumani trained Flandersrain. Apprentice jockey Will Price found himself amongst a wall of horses in the early going but eventually settled midfield, three off the fence. Price then found himself six wide in the last 400m but was making the ground on the approach to the turn. He cut the corner nicely to make up room and, as they straightened up, he showed the speed necessary to overcome the race leader in Imperial Lad.