Motor revved up to break maiden

IT TOOK longer than anticipated, but Icanmotor has broken his maiden.

Considered a handy type after finishing second at his first two starts, Icanmotor never delivered on that early promise until scoring in Cranbourne during weekend.

Thrilled to see the son of Somebeachsomewhere win at his 21^st outing, trainer Ray Mathews revealed there is a reason Icanmotor hasn’t met expectations.

“He got crook after a few starts and it took a lot out of him,” Mathews said.

“Although I never found out exactly what took a hold of him, he has never been the same since.

“Whatever it was, it has done something to him on the inside like it has weakened him.”

With champion reinsman Chris Alford in the cart, Icanmotor was eased to the tail of the field from the outside of the front line as Preliminary led from barrier four.

Forced four-wide around the final bend, Icanmotor sprinted to a three-metre win from A Lil Bettor.

Preliminary battled on to be a metre-and-a-half away third.

Part-owned by Matthews, Icanmotor covered the mile in 2:00.6.

“Chris drove him a treat and gave him every chance,” Mathews said. “The small field helped as he was never too far off the speed.

“I was pretty pleased with the way he finished off and hopefully it’s a sign he’s got a couple more wins in him.”