Cambridge trainer Tony Pike enjoyed a red-letter day at the Sunshine Coast on Sunday with a winning treble that included victory in the feature race, the Listed Daybreak Lover (1200m), with The Bostonian.
Pike was delighted with the performance of
his team, although disappointed he couldn't be on-course.
"I busted my wrist a couple of weeks ago and it needs a plate to be inserted in it," he said.
"They had me scheduled for surgery on Saturday so I decided I'd better get it done and cancelled my flight to Australia.
"As it turned out I went into hospital and had to come home again as there was an issue that meant my surgery was cancelled and will have to be rescheduled.
"All I could do was head home and watch the racing on TV."
What Pike saw pleased him immensely as The Bostonian overcame a frustrating few weeks to score a narrow victory, his second at stakes level after taking out a Listed event at Hastings last September before finishing second in the Gr.2 Hawke's Bay Guineas (1400m).
"It's fairly well documented we've had some issues with him over there with wide draws and the like," he said.
"I'm just delighted for his connections as we all know he has plenty of ability and he deserved to be able to show that.
"Now he's got that run under his belt we can press on with him to the Sunshine Coast Guineas at the end of the month."
Also headed down a similar path is fellow three-year-old Sacred Rebel, who scored in a lower-grade 1200m event earlier in the day.
"Sacred Rebel had been trialling brilliantly of late but with his aversion to wet tracks there was nothing for him here at home," Pike said.
"We decided to roll the dice and head to Brisbane and as luck would have it he struck a wet track again. Luckily it wasn't a great field and he has done enough to get a win.
"He will have another run at Doomben in a fortnight and then will tackle the Sunshine Coast Guineas as well, as long as he can get a decent track."
Pike was also left ruing a missed opportunity with staying filly Terra Sancta, who won over 1800m after missing a start in Saturday's Gr.1 Queensland Derby (2200m).
"She is thriving on her trip and was very unlucky not to finish closer than sixth in the Queensland Oaks at her last start," he said.
"I was hoping she might sneak into the Derby on Saturday as she would have been a great chance with a little luck. As it was, she couldn't make the field but got a consolation prize today.
"We're going to have to look around and see what else is coming up as the way she is going I think she can snatch another win at short notice." – NZ Racing Desk.
