Meech returns to winners’ circle with Last Week in Aspley Cup
Linda Meech has brought up her first win since returning to the saddle when booting home the Ciaron Maher & David Eustace-trained Last Week in the Aspley Cup at Edenhope on Sunday.
Meech had been missing from form guides since April 2020 after giving birth and on Sunday ticked off a massive milestone on her comeback.
The two-time Group 1 winner was aboard the $3.50 favourite in Sunday’s Aspley Cup at Edenhope, and she made sure favourite punters were in the collect queue.
It was a battle of the favourite over the final furlong as Meech and Last Week went stride for stride with Lachlan Neindorf and the James Bull-trained Tan Check, but it was the more experienced hoop who got the most out of her mount to bring up her first win since giving birth to her son Anthony.
Meech revealed in the lead-up to her return to the saddle that she was not initially sure if she would even return to raceday riding.
In the time she had off due to pregnancy, the veteran jockey gained her trainer’s license and has had a handful of starts as a trainer to begin her career in that side of life.
Meech has long been a country punter’s fancy, with the now 40-year-old booting home some 1,700 winners in her illustrious career.
While it is highly unlikely that we will see Meech riding in Group 1 events in this year’s Melbourne Spring Carnival, plenty of punters are just happy to see her name back in their form guides.