Trainer Andrew Jordan said last Friday night’s Port Pirie winner Lovable Larrikin would be heading back to Victoria for the next month.
“I’m taking a small team to campaign at Melton over the new few weeks,” Jordan said.
A $4.10 chance, Lovable Larrikin, driven by Mark Billinger, sat back in the field before sprinting home strongly to win the Natras Remote Services Pace (2050m).
Mark Dennis ($2.30 fav) finished second, beaten 4-1/2 metres, with The Smiler ($8.40) 1-1/2 metres away third.
Jordan said Lovable Larrikin had not been having any luck in his races.
“He took a while to get fit after having about 10 months away from racing, then when he was right, he just kept finding trouble.
“He copped checks in running a few times, then also poor draws didn’t help but he has been racing okay.
“At Pirie, in a smaller field, there was good pace on and he had a trouble-free run.
“Mark has been driving with good confidence and he timed the horse’s run perfectly.”
Jordan said Lovable Larrikin was a smart horse when right and was sure he would be suited back in Victoria.
“I will also be tasking Longtan Tigerman and Jaydens Castle.
“All the horses are fit and racing well and hopefully we can cover the costs of the trip, plus make a bit of a profit.”
The Pirie event was action-packed with The Smiler, as expected, leading from gate four but it took a while for Dani Hill on Mark Dennis to work around from gate five to go the lead and as soon as that happened Darren Billinger took Come On Frank around after being back early from gate six to sit parked.
The last mile saw a quickening of tempo with a 30.7, then 30.6 first half before a quick 28.6 third quarter then an even faster 28.1 final quarter which saw Lovable Larrikin emerge and dash home to score.
