Elite partnership between jockey Kyra Yuill and trainer Tom Pike leads to four victories at Newman Cup meet

It was a stunning series of victories for jockey Kyra Yuill and trainer Tom Pike as they made it four wins out of six at the Newman Cup on August 26. Jockey Simone Altieri and trainer Anthony Barton narrowly won the first race of the day with a 0.1 horse-length lead over Yuill. After that, Pike and Yuill went back-to-back-to-back on races two, three, and four before an uncharacteristic fifth-place finish in race five, as jockey Ava Catarino claimed her only victory on the day. Needing to bounce back for the sixth and final race of the day, the Newman Cup, Yuill, on Hezazeb, managed a tight 0.62-length victory over jockey Sasha Starley. The result made it three out of four North West victories for Hezazeb after the gelding claimed the Hedland and Roebourne Cups earlier in the year. It was not only a successful day for Yuill and Pike but also for the race’s host as the East Pilbara Race Club registered more than 1000 attendees for the marquee sporting event. Club secretary Courtney Andrews said that given the transient nature of the town, the race served as a great way for people to meet each other. “There are only one or two big social events in Newman over the year,” she said. “It’s a chance for a lot of people to meet or catch up with people who they might not normally see because of shift work.” Unlike other clubs in the Pilbara, the Newman Cup is the only race day for the East Pilbara Race Club and so it hosts both the Fashions of the Field competition and Family Day at the same event. While this made the race incredibly busy, Ms Andrews said the rarity of the event added to the excitement surrounding it. “It’s just something different for the town to experience,” she said. “People dress up and it’s incredibly family-friendly. “It’s a big event and has different things that people get to enjoy.” Ms Andrews wasn’t exactly sure of the numbers but said it was a ‘fairly big chunk’ of the 6000 residents who live in Newman.