Peters, Pike, Williams Pair Win Third Straight Railway

Leading Western Australian owner-breeder Bob Peters, husband-wife training duo Grant and Alana Williams, and popular rider William Pike combined Nov. 21 to take Perth's oldest group 1 race, the Kirin-Railway Stakes (G1), for the third straight year, with Inspirational Girl joining Regal Power and Galaxy Star on the honor roll.

It was Peters' fifth Railway Stakes win as an owner overall—having also scored with Old Comrade in 2001 and Elite Belle in 2014—but it was the first time he won not with a homebred but with a yearling purchase, having paid NZ$190,000 (US$138,106) for the Reliable Man filly at the 2017 NZB Premier Yearling Sale at Karaka.

"It feels a bit the same because she's really from one of our good families now," Peters said. "Her dam is a sister to Midnight Special, who has been very good to us and who we raced. Now we've got the family growing with stakes winners and we've put a group 1 in amongst it too. The family is building, and it feels like she's one of ours.

"This was a race that we found very hard to win early on. We won it in 2001, it took us 13 years to win it again, but now we've got a bit of a handle on it."

Sent out a dominant favorite after winning her past two starts, including the Hosemasters-Asian Beau Stakes (G3) at her first attempt in stakes company, Inspirational Girl was on the receiving end of a magnificent Pike masterpiece. The jockey received arguably the biggest on-course cheer at any racecourse anywhere since the COVID-19 pandemic brought regular life to a grinding, shuddering halt this year.

The maverick rider returned to Perth for the Railway Stakes instead of riding Peters' Arcadia Queen in the Seppelt Mackinnon Stakes (G1) at Flemington a fortnight ago, with the owner saying it was his decision: "I made it for him. I said, 'You've got a lot more rides to have here than you would over there.'"

Pike's two-week quarantine experience on a farm in Beaufort River was given the fairy-tale ending thanks to a deft touch that demonstrated why he has earned his nickname "The Wizard."

Settling beyond midfield early in between runners as a solid tempo was set by the last non-Peters Railway winner, Great Shot, Inspirational Girl tracked up steadily under Pike as the field bunched at the 600 meters.

Pike slowly sluiced his way between runners, making a pivotal move on the crest of the turn by waiting for the gaps to appear rather than forcing his way out wide. Appear they did as Inspirational Girl moved up effortlessly alongside Red Can Man, setting sail after Sungold Mile Warrnambool Cup winner Too Close The Sun, who had pinched a break.

It was only once the field reached the 150 meters that Pike was able to fully exploit a hands and heels drive on the mare, and once he did, she bounded up with great style. By the 100 meters, she was on terms with Too Close The Sun; by the 50 meters, she was racing clear for an emphatic win at her first attempt at the highest level.

At the line, the margin was just shy of two lengths.

In fact, the Asian Beau trifecta of Inspirational Girl, Too Close The Sun, and Red Can Man finished first, second, and fourth, with only longshot Uni Time—fifth in the Asian Beau—upsetting that order with a terrific performance from last.

Peters paid tribute to his stable rider for keeping a cool head as the race developed around him.

"It's important to have him on any horse," Peters said. "I had a talk to him earlier, and I said he'd be in the funnel, they will want to come from the outside, and they will want to kick up on the inside. I said, 'Provided you stay in the middle and you get a run through, you should be right.'"

Bred by Jamieson Park, Inspirational Girl is one of two stakes winners for the Zabeel mare Be Inspired, who also produced listed winner Ruettiger.

Second dam Done That (by Centaine) produced Durban Naturalism Stakes (G3) winner Rainbow Styling and Styletread Birthday Card Stakes (G3) heroine Zingaling, while another foal—Midnight Special—was purchased by Peters as a yearling. In the breeding barn, Midnight Special has produced Neverland, a multiple stakes winner for Peters, as well as New Zealand group 2 winner Demonetization.

Be Inspired has one further foal after Inspirational Girl, an unraced filly named Brookspire (by Hinchinbrook). Trained by Chris Waller in the colors of Brae Sokolski, the 3-year-old filly finished second in a trial at Rosehill last week.

Inspirational Girl has had 11 starts for nine wins and two placings, taking her earnings to AU$896,625 with Saturday's triumph.