Larrikin Leica Flemington A Lot
- Saturday, 05 June 2010 05:26
Leica Larrikin brought up his third win at Flemington and his fifth win from thirteen starts when he won the David Bourke Provincial Plate at Flemington this afternoon.
Under regular rider Mathew Cahill, Leica Larrikin had the last run at the big Provincial Plate field, storming down the outside of the track with the plucky Kallogg trying to outsprint him.
Leica Larrikin ($7.50-$8.50) was too big and too strong for Kallogg to get past, using his huge stride to advantage in the concluding stages.
He held out Kallogg ($4.60-$6.00), ridden by Brad Rawiller, by a short head on the line, while Savquaw ($7.50-$11) was third, a further length away.
Trainer Richard Freyer could not remember how many Provincial Plates the Freyer family had won but recalled winning it in 1958 with Tory, ridden by Roy Higgins, then a 3kg claiming apprentice.
Freyer had ambitions of winning this year's Wagga Cup but they were thwarted when Leica Larrikin suddenly fell ill.
"You just couldn't believe that he was in perfect order the Thursday night before the Wagga Cup and the next morning he had what you would call a head cold", he explained.
"He got over that within a week and I'd seen this race on and I thought well it won't completely cover the Wagga Cup but it nearly will."
Leica Larrikin needs a big track like Flemington when he gallops anti-clockwise because he is really not comfortable on his left leg.
"He hung the whole trip which he does the Melbourne way", Cahill observed.
Cahill praised Leica Larrikin's determination to win , saying:
"He really knuckled down and the last 100 metres he really dug deep."
Despite his affinity for Flemington, Freyer has no ambitions to run Leica Larrikin in the 150th Melbourne Cup in November.
"I'm not going to be mad on the Melbourne Cup, I'll probably put him in the Caulfield Cup", he suggested.
"I'll give him another twelve months because the way you listen to people talk about the Melbourne Cup they'll have to run three divisions without us trying to be in it", he quipped.
Photos: Fiona Tomlin
