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Knockout blow: The Winterbottom choice Pike made
Andrew Slevison • November 24th, 2025 4:37 pm
Willie Pike is seeing them well at the minute.
Western Australia’s premier jockey rode a treble at Ascot on Saturday including a feature double aboard King Of Light in the Group 2 WA Guineas and Watch Me Rock in the Group 1 Railway Stakes.
This coming Saturday Pike will ride Victorian raider Rey Magnerio in the Group 1 Winterbottom Stakes (1200m) as The Pinnacles carnival continues into a third weekend.
There are many suggesting this year’s Winterbottom could end up a match race between two-time victor Overpass and emerging WA sprinter Jokers Grin but Pike doesn’t necessarily see it that way.
He’s chosen the ride on the Robbie Griffiths-trained Rey Magnerio due to his consistency in strong sprint races in Melbourne which includes victory in the Group 2 Caulfield Sprint two starts back.
Pike could have ridden Oscar’s Fortune but went the way of Rey after the Dion Luciani gelding was no match for Jokers Grin in the Group 3 Colonel Reeves on November 15.
“It was a bit of a tough choice there as well, I had Oscar’s Fortune,” Pike said on SEN WA Breakfast.
“I need to turn the tables on Jokers Grin somehow and Rey Magnerio has been well travelled, he’s run good races in just about every race he’s been in.
“I really thought he could be the knockout blow and be the next best horse I could get on that could beat Jokers Grin hopefully.”
Pike insists the preparations for the weekend have already started but he will do more homework once he knows which barrier Rey Magnerio will jump from.
“I’ve already watched Rey Magnerio’s replays,” he added.
“Obviously I had a very good weekend so I gave myself a little bit of Sunday to be blasé.
“From this afternoon onwards I’ll get a bit more serious and have a look at a few more of my opponents to see what they might do.
“But you can’t do much until the barrier draw, then from there you do a bit more thinking, then on the day you might make a few adjustments if the track is not playing as you thought it would or if the easterly breeze is up.”
The Winterbottom Stakes is worth $1.5 million overall with winning connections raking in over $820,000.
Bjorn Baker’s Overpass has won the last two editions with Josh Parr aboard. Pike has previously won the race on three occasions with Graceful Girl in 2021, Hadabeclorka in 2010 and Ellicorsam in 2004.
Image credit: Western Racepix
