Trainer Lindsey Smith will be on the lookout for a new rider for Trap For Fools in the Group 2 $500,000 Perth Cup (2400m) at Ascot in Perth on January 1.
Black Heart Bart, above, was on the end of the interference caused by William Pike in the Kingston Town Classic at Ascot. Photo by Jenny Barnes.
Trap For Fools has won his last five outings, the last two with Hong Kong based jockey Douglas Whyte in the saddle, but under the new rules issued by the Hong Kong Jockey Club, jockeys contracted in Hong Kong will only be allowed to ride overseas in designated Group 1 races.
Whyte has been a regular visitor to Perth for the Summer Carnival for several years and this year rode at the Group 1 Railway Stakes meeting when he led all of the way on Trap For Fools to win the Listed $100,000 Magic Millions-Tattersall’s Cup (2100m) at Ascot.
Whyte returned to Perth for the Group 1 Kingston Town Classic Day when Trap For Fools extended his winning sequence to five with another all the way win in the Listed $100,000 G.A. Towton Cup (2200m) at Ascot.
“It will be a sad day when I get on the plane tonight, but some way, somehow I’ll be back,” Whyte said after his win on Trap For Fools last Saturday.
Smith will give Trap For Fools one more Perth Cup lead up run in the Group 2 $250,000 Ted Van Heemst Stakes (2100m) at Ascot on December 23.
“He’ll go to the Van Heemst and then into the Perth Cup,” Smith said.
“We’ve become quite close Douglas and I and my family.”
Perth’s leading jockey William Pike will also be unavailable for the Perth Cup Race Day after being suspended for careless riding for twenty-eight days for causing interference in the early stages of the Group 1 $1m Magic Millions-Kingston Town Classic (1800m) at Ascot last Saturday and is on the sidelines until January 8, 2018.
The Alan Mathews trained Pounamu went on to win the Kingston Town Classic while Pike’s mount Perfect Jewel fought on well in the straight to finish in fourth position, one and a half lengths from the winner.