WILL PIKE’S ON FIRE (YOUR BOOKMAKER’S TERRIFIED)

British footballer William Grigg caught fire for the first time since October 2019 on Saturday, but he has lost the rights to his famous chant to William Pike after The Wizard became Australia’s winningmost Group One jockey this season.

Will Pike’s on fire, and the bookmakers with whom his army of fans bet are terrified, especially when The Wizard lines up at the highest level and/or Caulfield. Pike has four wins and six minor placings to show for his 21 Group One rides this term, while his supporters in those races have made a small level-stakes profit. Pike has eight victories and six podium finishes from his 33 Caulfield appearances this season, his results at The Heath producing a 30 per cent return on investment for punters who back him religiously.

Pike is odds on not to add to his tallies of either Western Australian or Australian jockey premierships this season – The Wizard has won each of the last five national titles, and his state metropolitan championship total stands at 12 – but he, the training team of Grant and Alana Williams and the Peters Investments syndicate of Bob and Sandra Peters are focusing much of their collective energy on chasing Group One and marquee-event glory all over Australia.

In 2016, Wigan fan Sean Kennedy uploaded a video to YouTube titled Will Grigg’s on Fire, in which he sang “Will Grigg’s on fire, your defence is terrified” to the tune of Freed from Desire by Gala. Well, Grigg has not been on fire lately – the striker, who is on loan from Sunderland to Milton Keynes, hit the back of the net for the first time in his last 26 matches when the Dons defeated Northampton 4-3 – so it is time to both reimagine and reassign the song.

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