Pike Confident Of Tenth WA Derby Win

Champion jockey William Pike is confident he will win his tenth WA Derby aboard hot favourite Western Empire (Iffraaj-Western Jewel, by Jeune) on Saturday at Ascot, reports rwwa.com.au. His confidence is despite Western Empire drawing the outside barrier. "Obviously it's not the greatest of alleys, it makes it a little tricky, but he is the right horse to be on," Pike told Tabradio. "As long as I can get him to relax in the middle stages at some point you know he will be finishing strong." Pike explained, "He should relax, he's been relaxing well considering early on he used to be a bit fiery. He's been a lot better. I don't want to take it for granted, I want to make sure I get him in and switched off so that he can attack the line late." Western Empire has won four of his nine starts including his last three in succession, all in Listed company. Pike's nine WA Derby wins to date have been 2006 with Cat's Fun (Catbird-She's Zeel, by Zabeel), 2008 on Grand Journey (Good Journey-Grand Prospect, by Flying Spur), 2011 on Dreamaway (More Than Ready-Legal Consent, by Danehill), 2014 on Respondent (Haradasun-Avenida Madero, by Metal Storm), 2015 on Delicacy (Al Maher-Simply Wicked, by Scenic), 2016 on Arcadia Dream (Domesday-Arcadia, by Redoute's Choice), and the last three years in succession on Action (Pierro-Broadway Belle, by Redoute's Choice), Regal Power (Pierro-Broadway Belle, by Redoute's Choice) and Tuscan Queen (Fastnet Rock-Tavarnelle, by Zabeel). The WA Derby was upgraded to Group 1 in 1993, then downgraded back to Group 2 in 2012.