fifth. On 24 September, La Fleche ran against older and younger horses in the £10,000 Lancashire Plate over one mile at Manchester Racecourse. Ridden by Barrett, she tracked the leaders until the straight, where she accelerated impressively to win by three lengths from Orvieto, with Sir Hugo unplaced. At Newmarket five days later she faced only one opponent, a colt called Dunure, in the Grand Duke Michael Stakes. She started at odds of 1/40 and won the £1,000 prize in a predictable canter. In the Newmarket Oaks on 11 October she ran lazily but won very easily by a length from Golconda, to whom she was conceding nineteen pounds. She was then sent for the Cambridgeshire Handicap 26 October, for which she was assigned a weight of 122 pounds. La Fleche started 7/2 favourite in a field of thirty runners and was ridden by Barrett. The closing stages of the nine furlong race developed into a contest between La Fleche and Pensioner, a colt who was carrying only 88 pounds. The filly showed "fire and resolution" at the finish to pull away from the colt and win by one and a half lengths. The win took her earnings for the season to £23,848, all of which was donated to charity by Hirsch. At the end of the season La Fleche, and all of Maurice de Hirsch’s other horses were moved from the yard of John Porter to that of Richard Marsh. The move followed a disagreement between Hirsch's racing manager, Marcus Beresford, and another of Porter's important patrons, the Duke of Westminster 1893: four-year-old season In early 1893, La Fleche was reported to be wonderfully "fresh and well" although she showed no signs of having grown. She did not appear in public however, until 14 July, when she ran in the Eclipse Stakes at Sandown. She started evens favourite against five opponents, most notably Orme, who started on 2/1. Barrett moved the filly up to challenge in the straight, but she soon came under pressure and although she ran on "gamely" she could finish only third behind Orme and Medicis. Two weeks later at Goodwood, Orme again proved superior, beating the filly by a neck in the Gordon Stakes, despite veering sharply left inside the last furlong. In Autumn La Fleche attempted to win a second Manchester Plate, but finished third to the three-year-colts Raeburn, and Isinglass. The race had