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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. 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Cheap Jordan . Mats Zuccarello and Derek Stepan scored shootout goals, and backup goalie Cam Talbot earned his second win in two nights as the Rangers shook off a late tying tally and beat the Maple Leafs 2-1 Monday night. SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Syracuse coach Dino Babers is the first to admit that it wasnt exactly love at first sight with wideout Amba Etta-Tawo.When I was at Bowling Green last year, we played Maryland; I didnt really remember Amba in the game, said Babers, hired by Syracuse in December to replace Scott Shafer.Now its difficult not to notice the elusive Etta-Tawo, who apparently liked what he saw in Babers up-tempo style of offense during Bowling Greens 48-27 win over the Terps in 2015 and transferred to Syracuse for his final year of eligibility.Three games into the season, Etta-Tawo is thriving in the Oranges new offense. He leads the Atlantic Coast Conference and ranks third nationally in receiving yards per game (145.3), and his 9.3 receptions per game are tied for fourth in the Football Bowl Subdivision.I think Ive adjusted pretty well (to Babers system), but theres always room for improvement, said Etta-Tawo, whose parents are Nigerian. Just take it step by step, and at the end of the day everything will work out.Etta-Tawo has 28 catches for 436 yards -- an average of 15.6 yards per catch -- and three touchdowns. That receiving yardage total is the most ever for a Syracuse player in the first three games of a season. No surprise that his name was added this week to the national watch list for the Biletnikoff Award , given annually to the best receiver in the nation.Amba has been outstanding. Hes been a pleasant surprise, Babers said. Obviously, we had no idea hed be able to do the things that hes done so far, but it doesnt surprise me with the woork ethic that he put in when he started here, coming in the summer, working with (quarterback) Eric Dungey, the way he goes about his work in practice.ddddddddddddEtta-Tawos first game with the Orange is one hell likely remember forever. He caught 12 passes for 210 yards in a 33-7 victory over Football Championship Subdivision foe Colgate. Against then-No. 13 Louisville in Week 2, he had eight catches for 103 yards and two scores, one a 47-yarder, in a lopsided home loss to the rising Cardinals. He followed that with eight receptions for 123 yards in a loss against South Florida on Saturday in the Carrier Dome.Thats an impressive improvement from his time at Maryland, where Etta-Tawo had 61 catches for 938 yards and scored three times.I knew what I could do, said Etta-Tawo, who led Maryland with five catches for 49 yards in that game against Babers and Bowling Green last season. Its just learning what the coaches are preaching. Theyve done a great job teaching me new techniques and things to up my game a little bit.If youre on the same page as the quarterback, youre going to make it work.Syracuse (1-2) travels on Saturday to UConn (2-1), which could use a threat like the speedy, 6-foot-2, 202-pound Etta-Tawo. The Huskies have just 580 yards passing as a team, ranking last in the American Athletic Conference.---AP college football website: www.collegefootball.ap.org---Follow Kekis on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Greek1947 ' ' '