The Bostonian missing the Group 1 leaves New Zealand with potentially only one Group 1 participant in Sydney this Saturday after a remarkable last six weeks, with Not An Option likely to start in the A$400,000 Champagne Stakes for Pike.
"He is very likely to start but a final decision will be made after he gallops tomorrow and how the field is looking," says Pike.
If Not An Option was to win on Saturday he would be the sixth New Zealand-trained galloper to win a Group 1 in Sydney since February 29, all of them at Randwick.
And Not An Option's Australian campaign could be extended further as Pike plans to send him to the revised Queensland winter carnival.
That carnival was originally axed as part of the Covid-19 response and concerns about finances and what horses could cross the borders to get into the Sunshine State.
But it was relaunched with lower stakes and fewer big-time races late last week, giving Not At Option another shot at a prized Australian Group 1 victory.
"We are likely to send him there for two races and that will mean he has a caretaker trainer up there because my staff can't go interstate without a 14-day quarantine," explains Pike.
"But it is great to see their carnival still on, even for lesser stakes."
The Bostonian and his Vodafone Derby winning stablemate Sherwood Forest will rest up in New South Wales before returning to New Zealand as soon as the travel restrictions around horses being allowed to fly across the Tasman are lifted.
ATC Derby winner Quick Thinker will also fly the New Zealand flag at Randwick again on Saturday in the A$140,000 Frank Packer Plate, a Group 3.
GOLDEN KIWIS
The five Group One New Zealand winners at Randwick this autumn:
Feb 29: Probabeel — A$500,000 Surround Stakes
Feb 29: Te Akau Shark — A$600,000 Chipping Norton Stakes
March 7: The Bostonian — A$500,000 Canterbury Stakes
April 4: Quick Thinker — A$1 million ATC Derby
April 11: Etah James — A$1 million Sydney Cup.
