The king of WA racing, Willie Pike, has ridden plenty of horses in his illustrious career, but he has a new number one.

Fresh off his Cox Plate victory aboard Cosmic Crusader, Pikey exclaimed that the Andrea Leek-trained six-year-old has shot “straight to number one”.

The son of Maurice has had a stellar preparation so far, running in seven races and claiming victory in four, including two Group 1s – the Cox Plate and Turnbull Stakes.

Reflecting on that incredibly tough prep, Pikey explained why Cosmic Crusader has taken over his previous number one, Arcadia Queen.

“To be able to have a long campaign like this, hold his form so consistent through his entire prep, yeah, he shoots straight to number one,” Pike told RSN’s Correct Weight.

“Previously it was Arcadia Queen, but I think this guy's got the edge on her. Ability wise, I think she had plenty and could rival him, but she just wasn't user friendly, whereas Cosmic Crusader is a lot more user friendly and a lot more adaptable – that’s why he gets in front of her.”

Speaking on the 0.75 length victory itself, Pikey broke down his stellar ride aboard the WA horse.

The star hoop explained that he was able to find a lovely spot early in the ride, however after Ceolwulf moved off the fence, he found himself in a “less than ideal” position.

“It all began well. I was pretty quick to bury him early, which is what I thought I needed to do. I got in front of a couple of horses that I wanted to be in front of,” started Pikey.

“There was a little bit of a shuffle up at a couple of different times in the race. Ceolwulf sort of went to the fence, then Aeliana was able to get in in front of me, which was actually a good thing because I'm following J-Mac on one of the favourites, so that can never be a bad thing.

“But then later on the race progressed, Ceolwulf actually edged its way back off the fence, and J-Mac had to ease back. It gave us all this bit of a shuffle. I was happy with my position, but then just gradually as the race was unfolding, I was sort of losing positions and it was less than ideal.”

Pikey continued by talking through how he nearly made the final sprint home prior to James McDonald on Aeliana, but J-Mac was the one who made the move first, allowing the WA hoop to perfectly set up Cosmic Crusader for victory.

“If you watch the replay, I actually come to his (J-Mac’s) outside and I nearly went right before he did. I kind of edged myself in a little bit, almost into the three-wide position, but then he tracked up and I was able to follow his card up,” explained Pike.

“I stayed to the inside of him because I've been caught by the Flemington straight before. When I did start to edge more to the outside, I made sure I stayed behind J-Mac for a few more extra strides, mainly because I thought I had the horse to do so.

“I had the horse, I had the confidence, I peeled to the outside, I knew I had Aeliana covered, but then it was Birdman who was coming through on the inside, and I actually thought he might be the one that spoiled the party, but my bloke was just so strong through the line.

“There was no-one beating him on the day. He stayed strong right through the line.”

Listen to the full Willie Pike interview below: