Tony Pike will have his two talented fillies, Raziah and Archaic Smile, chasing age-group crowns within 10 minutes of each other this Saturday at Riccarton Park and Ellerslie.
In the South Island, The Oaks Stud-owned Raziah takes her place in the Gr.3 War Decree Stakes (1600m), looking to complete a stakes-level hattrick that commenced in the Listed Canterbury Belle Stakes (1200m) in mid-September.
The daughter of Niagara overcame a rocky run in the Gr.3 Barneswood Farm Stakes (1400m) to go back-to-back, a performance that Pike had plenty of praise for.
“It was exceptional,” he said. “She’d obviously taken good improvement from her first run down there, and after getting held up and checked a couple of times in the run, she was really strong late and won it quite comfortably in the end.
“Based on that run, the mile should suit her well on Saturday, hopefully the rain doesn’t arrive but we’re all in the same boat down there. She’ll take on a couple of new northerners, but she should be very hard to beat again.”
Raziah’s swift rise has been reflected in the TAB Futures market for the Gr.1 Barneswood Farm New Zealand 1000 Guineas (1600m), where she lies at $8 behind equal-favourites Alabama Lass and Captured By Love ($3).
“It’s a nice spacing to the 1000 Guineas with the three weeks, she’ll head there after Saturday,” Pike said.
“She’s a lovely natured filly, she hasn’t really turned a hair since she’s been down there.”
Meanwhile in the North, Archaic Smile has the Gr.2 Windsor Park Stud Soliloquy Stakes (1400m) on her agenda, a race Pike won last year with subsequent 1000 Guineas runner-up Impendabelle.
Archaic Smile won the Listed Wellesley Stakes (1100m) during her juvenile term before finishing second in the Gr.1 Sistema Stakes (1200m) and fourth in the Gr.1 Manawatu Sires’ Produce Stakes (1400m).
Her three-year-old season has included a fifth behind race-rival Alabama Lass in the Gr.3 Gold Trail Stakes (1200m) at Hastings before a luckless second to Sexy And I Moet at Tauranga earlier this month.
“She was unlucky at Tauranga being held up twice and probably should’ve won, but she’s come through that race well,” Pike said.
“She’s been competitive against the better two-year-old’s last season and she’s up to this class of field on Saturday. The favourite (Alabama Lass) looks extremely hard to beat and we’ve drawn an awkward barrier (9) to contend with, but I think the step-up to 1400m will really suit.”
The Saxon Warrior filly holds a nomination for both the 1000 Guineas and the Gr.1 Al Basti Equiworld Dubai New Zealand 2000 Guineas (1600m), with Pike keeping his options open at this stage.
“We’ll assess that after Saturday, we’ll look at the make-up of the colt field and there is a possibility she could run against them, but we’ll make that decision closer to the time,” he said.
Raziah currently sits a $3 second-favourite for the War Decree, while Archaic Smile sits in the fourth line of betting at $12, in a market heavily favouring Alabama Lass ($1.45).