Trainer Jarrod Austin would’ve been thinking he’d made the trip to Flemington for nothing as the gates opened and Looks Like Elvis missed the start by three lengths, but a brilliant ride by experienced hoop Linda Meech was the difference in the end.
Meech picked her way through the field at the top of the straight, bursting through a needle eye gap at the 200m mark to overhaul race favourite It’sourtime by a short neck, with Cherry Tortoni a further half-length away and Austin was full of praise.
“I can’t wipe the smile off my face. I wasn’t overly happy there after the first 30 metres when he missed the start, to her credit she rode him perfectly and he picked them off one at a time and he hit the line well,” Austin said.
Coming to Flemington first up was all part of the plan for the Warwick Farm based trainer, who was keen to avoid the wet tracks in Sydney and Brisbane.
“Everytime he comes down here he performs well. We had a plan for him and with all the weather in Sydney and the way it unfolded,” Austin said.
The Listed Winter Championships Final (1600m) is an option, although Austin questioned what Looks Like Elvis’ best distance is.
“I’ve found that the 1400 metres, held up a bit, he performs really well. He did perform well in the Epsom a couple years ago, so he can handle the mile. We’ll take him back home, weight everything up and we’ll go from there,” Austin said.
Linda Meech had to remain calm after the horror start and praised the horse’s ability to take gaps when required.
“I thought then that we can’t win from there, but to his credit, every time I asked for a little bit. He gave me everything that he had. He definitely would have been a good thing beaten,” Meech said.
