maxwin
18-07-2002, 23:30
MELBOURNE, July 18 AAP - Lee Freedman today claimed he was the underdog in the battle for the Melbourne trainers' premiership despite having a one-win lead over John Hawkes.
Freedman, a dual premiership winner, has trained 56 winners for the season but he expects Hawkes, with the weight of numbers, will take the crown for the first time.
"There seems an inevitability of John getting to the front through sheer weight of numbers," Freedman said.
"You would think that with normal strike rates that he would get there."
The Hawkes' camp has played down the prospect of winning the premiership but the stable has noticeably increased its number of Melbourne runners in recent weeks.
Hawkes has nine horses in seven of the eight races at Caulfield on Saturday while Freedman will start talented mare Joie first-up in the $100,000 Monash Stakes (1000m) and two-year-old Storm Prince in the Monash Student Hcp (1200m).
Freedman was reserved about the winning prospects of Joie who is resuming after suffering a bleeding attack when last at Caulfield in February.
It was the first time the four-year-old mare had been unplaced in her seven-start career, which includes three wins and three seconds.
Freedman said that Joie would almost certainly go to stud this season and that the Monash was one of the pre-spring sprints she would contest in the hope of landing her first stakes win before being retired.
"Her major value is as a broodmare and I spoke with (the owner) Dean Fleming and decided that we would try and win a couple of early sprint races with her," Freedman said.
"I'm happy with her but the field is probably stronger than we would have thought and a lot stronger than other years.
"It's a hard race for her but if she happened to get a soft track then she would be an each-way chance."
The Freedman stable has had good success with bringing bleeders back to the track, among them the great Super Impose, Australian Cup winner Durbridge and Caulfield Cup winner Mannerism.
Hawkes' dual Group One winner Sports, third last year, has the number one saddlecloth in the Monash having won close to $1.2 million while Newmarket Handicap winner Rubitano promises to be hard to beat having been placed in all of his 10 starts, including seven wins.
Rubitano's stablemate Prince Rubiton also resumes in the event while Regal Shot and Windigo are again lining up after finishing first and second respectively in last year's Monash.
Damien Oliver has returned from a two-week holiday in Mauritius and will ride Storm Prince who was an impressive Moonee Valley winner at his only race start on July 3.
Oliver's manager Bruce Clark said the champion jockey would ride at 54.5kg on Saturday and had accepted only four mounts at the meeting.
He has his sixth jockeys' premiership well and truly won with 89 winners, 24.5 ahead of Kerrin McEvoy.
He will also ride the Robbie Laing-trained three-year-old filly Ruby Slipper in the Monash, Something Funny (Monash Open Day Plate) and Chiming Door (Chancellor's Plate).
Hawkes' runners are Lambeth and Volley in the Monash Student Hcp, Palais (Business And Economics Plate), Gramercy and Malo (Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences Plate), Philotimo (IT Plate), Boreale (Chancellor's Plate) and Orthopaedic (Monash International Hcp).
Freedman, a dual premiership winner, has trained 56 winners for the season but he expects Hawkes, with the weight of numbers, will take the crown for the first time.
"There seems an inevitability of John getting to the front through sheer weight of numbers," Freedman said.
"You would think that with normal strike rates that he would get there."
The Hawkes' camp has played down the prospect of winning the premiership but the stable has noticeably increased its number of Melbourne runners in recent weeks.
Hawkes has nine horses in seven of the eight races at Caulfield on Saturday while Freedman will start talented mare Joie first-up in the $100,000 Monash Stakes (1000m) and two-year-old Storm Prince in the Monash Student Hcp (1200m).
Freedman was reserved about the winning prospects of Joie who is resuming after suffering a bleeding attack when last at Caulfield in February.
It was the first time the four-year-old mare had been unplaced in her seven-start career, which includes three wins and three seconds.
Freedman said that Joie would almost certainly go to stud this season and that the Monash was one of the pre-spring sprints she would contest in the hope of landing her first stakes win before being retired.
"Her major value is as a broodmare and I spoke with (the owner) Dean Fleming and decided that we would try and win a couple of early sprint races with her," Freedman said.
"I'm happy with her but the field is probably stronger than we would have thought and a lot stronger than other years.
"It's a hard race for her but if she happened to get a soft track then she would be an each-way chance."
The Freedman stable has had good success with bringing bleeders back to the track, among them the great Super Impose, Australian Cup winner Durbridge and Caulfield Cup winner Mannerism.
Hawkes' dual Group One winner Sports, third last year, has the number one saddlecloth in the Monash having won close to $1.2 million while Newmarket Handicap winner Rubitano promises to be hard to beat having been placed in all of his 10 starts, including seven wins.
Rubitano's stablemate Prince Rubiton also resumes in the event while Regal Shot and Windigo are again lining up after finishing first and second respectively in last year's Monash.
Damien Oliver has returned from a two-week holiday in Mauritius and will ride Storm Prince who was an impressive Moonee Valley winner at his only race start on July 3.
Oliver's manager Bruce Clark said the champion jockey would ride at 54.5kg on Saturday and had accepted only four mounts at the meeting.
He has his sixth jockeys' premiership well and truly won with 89 winners, 24.5 ahead of Kerrin McEvoy.
He will also ride the Robbie Laing-trained three-year-old filly Ruby Slipper in the Monash, Something Funny (Monash Open Day Plate) and Chiming Door (Chancellor's Plate).
Hawkes' runners are Lambeth and Volley in the Monash Student Hcp, Palais (Business And Economics Plate), Gramercy and Malo (Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences Plate), Philotimo (IT Plate), Boreale (Chancellor's Plate) and Orthopaedic (Monash International Hcp).