Ever Loyal's win in Saturday's 1600m listed 3yr-old event only strengthened the hand Cambridge trainer Tony Pike already has in next month's Two Thousand Guineas.
The 3yr-old and rider Jason Waddell hit the front early in the run home and produced a tough effort to hold off his fellow North Island placegetters, Scott Base and Swing Note.
``It was a confident ride from Jason on Ever Loyal,'' Pike said.
``He had to do plenty of work early on and when the leader rolled off 500m out, our horse was left in front.
``He's a lovely horse and we've always had a good opinion of him and he's still learning and improving.''
Ever Loyal's win saw him shorten to $8 for the Two Thousand Guineas.
Pike also has Bostonian ($12), Aim Smart ($16) and Sacred Rebel ($41) aimed at the group 1 event.
The Pike and Waddell trainer-jockey combination also won Saturday's opening event with Sacred Empire.
Te Akau Stud trainers Stephen Autridge and Jamie Richards combined with jockey Sam Weatherley to take Saturday's listed Spring Classic.
Weatherley's ride garnered praise from Richards.
``I thought Sam Weatherley made the right decision about the mile to slide forward on her; it was very important. He got her into a lovely rhythm and she quickened up super.''
The trainers and jockey also combined to win with early running 2yr-old Avantage, earlier on the Riccarton card.
The horse's victory went some way to justifying her owners' decision to turn down a huge purchase offer for the unbeaten filly.
``The owners of Avantage turned down $750,000 for her, after she won her first race,'' Te Akau Stud's David Ellis said.
The South Island's hopes of a feature win during New Zealand Cup week were boosted when the Michael and Matthew Pitman-trained Son Of Maher won Saturday's Coupland's Mile trial.
The 5yr-old, who is part owned by cricketer Brendon McCullum, scored a one and a-quarter-length victory courtesy of a perfect Samantha Wynne ride.
Classy Otago raiders Tommy Tucker and Coulee finished well back in the field in their first public appearance of the season.
Despite Tommy Tucker looking outpaced during the running, he warmed up late to hit the line strongly at the finish, albeit more than seven lengths behind the winner.
Wingatui jockey Shankar Muniandy caused a boilover in the last event when he won on the Mike McCann-trained Forged at 85-to-one odds. - Additional reporting NZ Racing Desk.
