‘Little battling Kiwi trainer’ finally lands J-Mac for Derby

Damian Lane rode Pike’s charge Tutukaka to an impressive win in the recent Geelong Classic but Pike has turned to “J-Mac’’ for the Derby as Lane will miss the bumper day due to a whip suspension.Surprisingly, New Zealander Pike and former Kiwi McDonald have only teamed up on rare occasions.But after narrowly missing snaring a Group 1 together when The Bostonian got pipped in the George Ryder Stakes at Rosehill in March last year, the duo are determined to make it count in Saturday’s Derby.And some good-natured ribbing is just the way to prepare for a Derby tilt on Tutukaka who is rated a $9 chance by TAB fixed odds.“James has hardly ever ridden for me, he’s too bloody hard to get,” Pike quipped.“He is far too high profile for a little battling Kiwi trainer like myself.“He is actually one of my best mates, he comes on a Queenstown golf tour pretty regularly and I give it to him all the time about hardly ever riding for me.“We got close with The Bostonian in the George Ryder, so hopefully we can go one better on Saturday.” A Derby win would be a pick-me-up for Cambridge-based Pike who due to Covid-19 restrictions in New Zealand has unable to go to all but one local racetrack in his homeland in recent times.It would also be a great tonic for McDonald who had his Cox Plate favourite Zaaki scratched on race morning last Saturday and on Wednesday the British Melbourne Cup challenger he was booked for, Away He Goes, was ruled out with a tendon injury.As for Pike, the astute Kiwi horseman has won five Australian Group 1s – four of which have come in Queensland, which has been a happy hunting ground for him in the last five years.He has never won a Victorian Group 1 but thinks that can change with Tutukaka who he said matured considerably during a three-run campaign during the Queensland winter carnival.Due to Covid-19 restrictions, Tutukaka missed a trial before going to Victoria for the spring and was a run short in his first two Victorian hit-outs before he showed what he is capable of when surging home to win the Classic over 2200m at Geelong.Pike said the 2500m Derby trip will be even more in his sweet spot.“He came to Australia short of a run but I really do think he is now peaking at exactly the right time,” Pike said.“We got some work into him going into the Geelong Classic and he relaxed beautifully and did pretty much everything right.“The Derby trip should be no problem at all.“If he can get a soft run midfield with cover he will be a genuine chance, he will run the trip out better than most.” While Pike is convinced Tutukaka will love every metre of the 2500m Derby test, he feels there are question marks around some others who are well regarded in the betting market.Last Saturday’s Moonee Valley Vase winner Forgot You is likely to start Derby favourite but Pike said “that horse still has to get to 2500m and last Saturday he had a tough run on a wet track”.Pike feels Ciaron Maher and Dave Eustace’s Derby runner Hitotsu “looks a smart horse off his Caulfield Guineas run but now has to jump from a mile to 2500m”.“There are a few question marks about a heap of Derby runners,” Pike said.“We are in there with a good a chance and I am confident he will run the trip out better than most.“The trip away to Queensland during the winter helped him grow up.“If I hadn’t taken him to Queensland I would have had no chance of getting him to a Derby as he wouldn’t have had enough prizemoney and he wouldn’t have had enough mileage under his belt.”