Covid restrictions will see numbers severely limited at Addington on Tuesday but the first horse punters will see on their racebooks will be Sugar Apple.
Copy Who? Sugar Apple to make unusual farewell on harness racing’s biggest day
By Barry Lichter • 5 November 2021
It’s the ultimate pub quiz stumper.
What horse was on the front cover of the racebook for IRT New Zealand Trotting Cup day 2021?
Last year’s winner Self Assured?
Wrong.
Triple cup hero Terror To Love?
Wrong.
On a day when Lincoln Farms’ classy Copy That will start one of the favourites for the $600,000 feature at Addingon, one of its lesser performed horses gets the surprise pin-up treatment.
Enter, the racy looking, but only one-win two-year-old, Sugar Apple.
And the juvenile’s rare moment in the spotlight comes just a few days after he left Lincoln Farms and the country, sold to New South Wales interests.
Sugar Apple showing off at Cambridge on Jewels day.The Sweet Lou colt might have won just one of his six starts here, but he always made his presence known, and Auckland photographer Trish Dunell’s shot obviously took the fancy of the racebook designers.
A half brother to Lincoln Farms’ former classy three-year-old American Dealer, he has not raced since winning his last start for trainer Ray Green at Cambridge in August.
It was there just a few months earlier, on Harness Jewels day, that he turned on a display in front of the grandstand, rearing repeatedly before the score-up then blazing to the front to lead the fastest horses in the country in the Two-Year-Old Emerald.
“He’s a zippy little guy and they’ll love him over there,” Green said.
“He’ll win them in a row for a starter as they have so many more options for horses like him. He has gate speed, a big engine and a bit of lick. He’s just not that strong yet. He’s a similar type to Larry Lincoln, who was a sit-sprinter rather than one for big overland trips.”
Sugar Apple was raced here by American Dealer’s owners Gordon Banks and Marc Hanover, John and Lynne Street, Trevor Casey, Matt Hooper, Grant Dickey, Ian Kedzlie, the Chissos and Wack Syndicate and the Green Machine Racing Syndicate.
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Bang! Lincoln Wave’s tyre blows out, startling rival drivers but Alabar win would shock more
Our runners this week: How our trainers rate them
Ray’s comments
Thursday night at Cambridge
Race 1: Rivergirl Bella
5.44pm
“She did well here last time as she had to do a bit to get to the lead and she dug in and fought on. She’s certainly a chance if she repeats that effort.”
Race 4: Lincoln Linda
7.09pm
“I thought she went super last time after doing a lot of work. She can do that because she has an engine and is tough. She’s a bit one-dimensional - you have to turn her loose early - but from the two draw she should be able to lead and that’s where she does her best work.”
Race 5: Sugar Ray Lincoln
7.34pm
“I think he’s a bit stronger after his spell. It’s not a great field - most will die on that mark - and I don’t see a problem with the standing start as he’s nicely gaited. He could be marginally unfit after three months out but he’s done quite a bit of work and I can see him going a half-decent race.”
Race 6: Lincoln Maree
7.59pm
“She had every chance last time but I can’t see why she won’t go well again. She’s as honest as they come and tries like hell.”
Race 7: The Night Fox
8.29pm
“You’d think he’d lead easily from the inside. He’s had bad draws and still got the money, so I’m sure he’ll go another good race. I’m surprised they sold him so cheaply. He’s better than people think.”
Ray’s comments
Friday night at Auckland
Race 1: Lincoln Wave
5.09pm
“With the trip he got in the Harness Million I thought he’d have run on a lot better. But he was still a bit short on fitness and sometimes we can expect too much of these horses, he was racing the best, after all. It’s a big drop in grade here and he’s a pretty fair horse.”
Race 1: Leo Lincoln
5.09pm
“He’s an honest sort who’s in a good space but he won’t get a wonderful trip from the outside of the gate this time so I’m not holding my breath.”
Race 3: Sammy Lincoln
6.04pm
“He’s training down well but you never know what he’s going to do. You think you’ve got him sorted and he does something silly. But we know if the real Sammy turned up, he’d be very hard to beat as he’s got a lot of speed.”
Race 5: Prince Lincoln
7.05pm
“He’s another where you don’t know which one will turn up but we’ve gelded him since his last run, so we’ll see if that helps. He trained well the other day.”
