Real Love lived up to all the hype of her favouritism and showed why she is going to be a star of the future with a gutsy start-to-finish victory in yesterday’s $500,000 Perth Cup (2400m) at Ascot.
In an unusual position up the front, Real Love showed she is the future of staying in Australia, and William Pike again showed why he is so highly regarded in Western Australia.
Again there was no fairy tale for spritely jockey Danny Miller, who finished third on Kirov Boy. The 67-year-old gave the Arthur Mortimer trained stayer every chance after bundling the start.
Kirov Boy didn’t quite have the pace out the front as he usually does and was back third-last when runners left the straight. It forced Miller’s hand, who took Kirov Boy around most of the field challenging Real Love with 1100 metres to go.
But Real Love showed true staying grit with Pike not surrendering the lead on the turn to the home straight and then sending Real Love up another gear.
Kirov Boy looked gone before finding a second wind to stay on for third. But Red Blast also showed some impressive toe to finish second half a length.
Real Love was another success for breeder-owners Bob and Sandra Peters, who have now owned five Perth Cup winners, while it was the second Perth Cup for Adam Durrant.
The future is bright for Real Love and Durrant hinted that an interstate trip against some tough opposition was inevitable.
“She’s a very young stayer. There’s no reason she can’t be competitive over east,” Durrant said.
Is it possible that we may have finally found a horse that has the potential to take on the European stayers in the spring?
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