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A quartet of Group One targets are on the programme for Tony Pike’s Queensland hero Sacred Star.
Having achieved a rare New Zealand victory in top Australian sprinting company, the Group 2 QTC Cup winner’s first focus will be on the Hawke’s Bay spring carnival.
“He only had the two runs over there and he came through them really well,” Pike said. “He’ll most likely run in the first two (Makfi Challenge Stakes, Windsor Park Plate) at Hastings.”
The final leg of the Triple Crown series, the Spring Classic (2000m), isn’t being considered for the rising five-year-old son of Flying Spur.
“I don’t think he’ll stay, but up to a mile he’s pretty versatile,” Pike said. “We’ll freshen him up after Hawke’s Bay and the plan is to run him in the Railway and the Telegraph and look at Sydney in the autumn.”
Sacred Star ended his Queensland campaign with an unlucky run for fifth from a wide gate in the Group 1 Stradbroke Handicap.
“If he had drawn an alley he would have finished a lot closer,” Pike said.
“He’s improved each preparation and seems to be going to another level.”
The stable is also planning to follow a tried and true approach to the Hastings carnival with this season’s Group 3 Eclipse Stakes winner Vinnie Eagle.
“He’s back in work now and he’ll probably follow the same path that Sacred Falls did through to the Hawke’s Bay Guineas,” Pike said.
He won the Listed Challenge Stakes at Ruakaka before overcoming a slow start to claim the Group Two feature at Hastings.
Vinnie Eagle is raced by Australian-based owner Colin Keane, who also has Allez Eagle in the Pike team. The Guillotine gelding finished fourth in his Australian debut at Moonee Valley earlier this month.
“He peaked on his run and he’s taken huge improvement out of the race,” Pike said, “He’ll run at Flemington on the 28th in a three-year-old race over 1100 metres next.”
He also has Popeye Braggins in Melbourne and was disappointed by his first-up unplaced effort. “There was a lot of kick-back on the track, but he put in a shocker,” Pike said. “He’ll run at Cranbourne over 1600 metres on Sunday and hopefully goes a lot better."