Trainer snares third in grand annual at 'hard event to win'

But he knows it's no easy feat.

The trainer, who won the race in 1992 with Vinchiamo, was back at Warrnambool on Thursday, May 2, 2024.

Leek had high hopes for his runner in the Grand Annual - Tom Foolery.

"The distance - 5.5 kilometres, it's a long way and there's a lot of hurdles for him to jump," he said.

Leek said he loved attending the carnival.

"We've been down here quite a bit but it's a hard event to win," Mr Leek said.

Tom Foolery finished third in the race.

Leek said Warrnambool wouldn't be the city it was today without the annual carnival.

"Warrnambool is a great city but if we didn't have the Warrnambool carnival, a lot of businesses would go broke."

Leek trains about 15 horses at Pakenham.

He said horse racing was in his blood.

"My father was a trainer, my grandfathers were trainers," Leek said.

"One grandfather won a Melbourne Cup and one grandfather won a Caulfield Cup."