Champion WA jockey William Pike chases a third Northerly Stakes title on Storyville

Champion local jockey William Pike will ride the lightest he’s ridden in five years as he chases an elusive Group 1 success in the Northerly Stakes at Ascot on Saturday.

Champion local jockey William Pike will ride the lightest he’s ridden in five years as he chases an elusive Group 1 success in the Northerly Stakes at Ascot on Saturday.

Pike has ridden three-year-old fillies at 50kg on four previous occasions, all in the Northerly Stakes, formerly known as the Kingston Town Classic.

He won the race aboard Perfect Reflection in 2015 and Arcadia Queen in 2018 while also finishing unplaced on Perfect Jewel in 2017 and Tuscan Queen in 2019.

On Saturday, he will team up with Grant Williams and training partner Alana for the fifth time with a three-year-old filly when he rides Storyville in the weight-for-age feature which is the last Australian Group 1 of 2024.

“It’s a good challenge to ride that weight and something in a strange way I’ve enjoyed doing, to prove I can still do it,” Pike said.

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“I’ll get it done. It shouldn’t be a problem.

“Right now, I feel fine, I’m just a little hungry and a little angry as usual.

“I don’t know how I’m going to react, how I’m going to feel and that makes it a real challenge.

“I don’t like talking about it that much because there are other jockeys out there that have to strip a few kilos off regularly.”

Pike hasn’t tasted Group 1 success since the winter of 2022 when he teamed up with Peter and Paul Snowden to win the JJ Atkins aboard former WA filly Sheeza Belter.

Yeah the girls! 🤍 The outstanding Storyville stuns the best of the boys with a heart pounding triumph in the Group 2 $500K White Claw-W.A. Guineas. 👏

The Team Williams bred, owned and trained 3YO joined Arcadia Queen and Watch Me Dance as winners of the WA Champion Fillies… pic.twitter.com/B5toPKQaRb

— Perth Racing (@PerthRacing) November 23, 2024

The popular rider was honest in his appraisal of his steer aboard Western Empire in last week’s Group 1 Winterbottom Stakes where he believes options he took during the 1200m sprint played a role in the gelding finishing out of the placings.

“We only get three chances in Group 1s over here so there’s nothing worse than when you don’t walk away saying, ‘at least I gave it the best ride I could’,” he said.

“I can’t say that happened with Western Empire.

“I went against my natural riding pattern and at the end of the day you get one chance to shine and I missed it.”

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But, as champions do, Pike is using last week’s experience as motivation for his upcoming opportunity aboard the exciting Storyville.

The daughter of Overshare goes into her first Group 1 assignment off the back of two wins, the most recent in the Group 2 WA Guineas (1600m), a race which has produced three of the past six Northerly winners, all fillies.

“She’s pretty good,” he said. “Still raw and has more to offer in the grand scheme of things.

“She was doing everything backwards at first, but she just started doing it all right and I think there’s more to come as she continues to learn her craft.

STORYVILLE (#Overshare / New Orleans)

G2 White Claw - W.A. Guineas 1600m@PerthRacing
J: William Pike pic.twitter.com/QmDOYmhmlV

— Williams Racing WA (@williamsracing6) November 24, 2024

“She’s a filly with a real high head carry and a real long stride, she’s actually a very awkward horse to ride.”

Pike said it’s unfair to compare Storyville to the other fillies he’s ridden in the race, and he also highlighted she’s a different type of horse but she does have the quality to become the fourth three-year-old filly in seven years to prevail in the 1800m contest.

“The other fillies I rode in this race were ready-made racehorses and with the weight advantage it was like, bang whereas this horse is more raw than the others,” he added.

“She’s got plenty of natural ability, but she doesn’t have a natural race brain.

“She’s the elite sports kid that is as physically or mentally mature as some others but eventually she’s likely to catch up and go past them.

“Everything she’s doing now is a bonus.”

Pike said the Northerly Stakes is “a very even race this year, a very open race” and after drawing the inside barrier, Storyville firmed into $4.40 favouritism for the event.

Originally published as Champion WA jockey William Pike chases a third Northerly Stakes title on Storyville