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William Pike has been described as being as reliable as a bank ATM: Back whatever he is on and collect. In Saturdays Group 1 Railway Stakes (1600m) in Perth, Western Australias premier jockey may validate the confidence of so many punters across the country yet again when he partners Perfect Reflection in the first feature of the citys Summer Racing Carnival at Perth.Now into the fourth month of the 2016-17 season, Pikes strike rate of 29.4 percent is as good as any jockey anywhere would imagine. Convert that to a run-rate and he would be knocking on the door of the Australian cricket team. For now, though, a second win in one of Perths toughest and most competitive races is where his mind is at with this $5.50 equal favourite.Im very much looking forward to riding her; she won the main lead-up race, the Lee Steere Classic [1400m, Group 2 on Nov. 5], and that was very good, Pike told ESPN of the four-year-old mares most recent performance.At the mile, I think it will be even better for her. And Ive got lucky with the [No. 2] barrier, too.The tougher Group 1 company may present another challenge, but the Grant and Alana Williams-trained mare stood up well enough to her first task at Group 3 level in Melbourne in February. Her third placing, beaten less than a length by Dont Doubt Mamma (twice a winner in Melbourne during the Spring Carnival) in The Vanity over 1400 metres at Flemington shouldnt be discounted.A blip on her record came when she finished well down the track in the Group 1 Australian Guineas (Flemington, 1600m) in March, but Pike says that it also shouldnt detract from assessing where she is currently at in her preparation.She went to Melbourne at the end of her campaign last time so it isnt fair to compare her then and now. She is a different horse now. With six Western Australian Derby trophies to his name, together with two Perth Cups, Pikes dominance of WA racing is most significantly stamped by his eight jockey premierships across the state.Pike broke a long-standing premiership record in the 2015-16 season with 118 winners in the Perth metropolitan area and more than 200 throughout Western Australia. Hes come a long way over a 16-year career, actually and figuratively.He grew up in the old gold mining town of Coolgardie, 550 kilometres east of Perth. Just as distant is his lineage to Hall of Fame jockey Jim Pike; the legendary rider of Phar Lap and a one- or two-degree relative of Williams grandfather. That association is more of a coincidence as a career in the racing saddle was never really on the radar for Willie.Not at all. My side of the family had nothing to do with racing. Id never been to a racecourse before I came to Perth and started my riding apprenticeship, the 30-year-old said.My uncle saw that I had always liked horses having done pony club and all of that sort of stuff and one day he said I want you to come and meet this person I know, referring to trainer Jack Cockell in Mundijong, situated 90 minutes south of Perth, and who became the WA champions mentor.The winners have kept rolling in. A riding-treble at Belmont last June was followed by a sextet of victories at Kalgoorlie in September. It all adds up to a list of profitable outings that any financial adviser would be more than proud of.But does being such a punters pal add to the pressure for an athlete still well in his prime, and did the prospect of smashing the local record result from a well laid plan?It did sort of just happen but a fair way out I still had my doubts, Pike said of his much lauded previous season. You have those patches where your form isnt so good, and at one point I was worried that I wouldnt even reach 100 [winners]. Somehow is then snowballed.Then they started saying that I was a chance to break the record. I didnt think that was going to happen but then I ended up putting a good margin on it. I did sort of just happen but definitely in between there are a lot of doubts.It all came about because I was able to stay out of the Stewards Room and from the ambulance, basically.Perhaps Pikes reliability emanates more from his attitude to race riding overall rather than just singling himself as a big race performer?Ive always just gone out and done my best no matter what the race is. My preparation for this Railway coming up is no different to any other that Ive ridden in. I want to win every race I go win, but I treat it like every other race just the same.I just want to do my best. I dont feel it [pressure] but sometimes when I go out on a short-priced horse -- and you know that its short because Im on it -- I feel like I want to do well for the punters, but it doesnt always happen.This Railway is a very hard race to win even if you have a good horse, and Im still going to need luck.Good luck, too, Willie. No doubt therell be plenty of others on the other side of the fence riding with you. Custom Winnipeg Jets Jerseys Cheap . Here are his mid-season NBA awards. MVP: (KEVIN DURANT-Thunder) - Has been sensational this season and more importantly, the most consistent player in the league. Considering that his team has been without star guard Russell Westbrook and with the free agent departure of sharpshooter Kevin Martin, hes had to carry the majority of the load to not only keep his team afloat but more importantly, at an elite level. Custom Jerseys Wholesale .J. -- New York Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz will miss the rest of the season after having surgery on his left knee. http://www.hockeyjerseyscustom.com/ . Gather a group of friends, or find a league to join online, draft your team, set your lineup and compete in a number of different formats. Custom Jerseys Hockey Outlet . -- The proud fathers huddled near the Dallas Stars dressing room, smiling, laughing and telling stories while wearing replica green sweaters of their sons team. Discount Custom Hockey Jerseys . Varlamov made 33 saves and Ryan OReilly had a goal and scored in the shootout as the Avalanche beat the New Jersey Devils 2-1 on Thursday night. Its that time in the football season when fans ask, Whatever happened to...?Whether because of injury, getting keyed on or avoided by the opponent, or just plain bad luck, some Big Ten players havent been able to build on or repeat the big seasons they had in 2015.Heres a look at some of them:OFFENSE- Illinois RB KeShawn Vaughn rushed for a team-high 723 yards with six touchdowns and was projected to be the featured back this season. He lost his job in the fourth game. Since then hes had a total of 11 carries while Reggie Corbin and Kendrick Foster have gotten most of the work.- Illinois QB Wes Lunt started all 12 games last season and threw for 250 yards five times, and he looked like a lock to do the same under first-year coach Lovie Smith. He hurt his back against Purdue on Oct. 8 and hasnt played since, though he practiced in full pads this week.- Indiana WR Simmie Cobbs was suspended for the opener and sustained a season-ending ankle injury on the first play of the second game. Last year, he caught just under five balls a game and was the Big Tens third-leading receiver with 80 yards a game.- Nebraska WR Jordan Westerkamps numbers were running well behind last season even before a back injury kept him out of the last two games: 13 catches through five games compared with 27 in 2015.- Rutgers QB Chris Laviano started 18 straight games before getting benched in the second half against Illinois two weeks ago. He completed only 48 percent of his passes in seven games. Giovanni Rescigno got the start in the narrow loss at Minnesota last week, and coach Chris Ash indicated Rescigno will be the guy the rest of the way.DEFENSE- Iowa CB Desmond King won the Jim Thorpe Award last year with eight interceptions. Hes still the Big Tens best cover man. QBs, smartly, are sttaying away from him.dddddddddddd. Hes intercepted just one pass and ran it back for a touchdown.- Michigan State DL Malik McDowell has been banged up, missed half a game for a targeting penalty and has moved from tackle to end. It took until the seventh game for him to record his first sack.- Minnesota LB Cody Poock was second on the team with 99 tackles in 2015. Hes missed two games this because of injuries but still has only 18 tackles, seven coming in one game.- Ohio State MLB Raekwon McMillan was by far his teams top tackler last season, with nine per game. His average has dropped to six, but thats largely because opponents arent running up the middle as much.- Purdue LB Andy James Garcia has just nine tackles in six games after ranking third on the team with 63. Garcias role decreased because the Boilermarkers played a lot of nickel defense the first five games. But even now that the defense is playing more 4-3, Garcia has been the odd man out.SPECIAL TEAMS- Indiana K Griffin Oakes was Big Ten kicker of the year after making 24 of 29 field goals, including 6 of 8 from 40 yards or longer. He opened this season with misses on 4 of his first 9 attempts. Hes made 5 of his last 6, though, with the miss coming from 53 yards.- Maryland KR/PR William Likely, one of the nations most electrifying players in 2015, is out for the season after tearing his ACL two weeks ago. His production had been nowhere near as prodigious. His punt return average was just 3.3 yards; last year it was 18.2 with two touchdowns. As a kick returner, he had been mostly held in check aside from a 64-yarder.---More AP college football: http://collegefootball.ap.org ' ' '