Easier field, tougher draw but our Tommy’s going well enough to be right in it again
By Barry Lichter • 20 August 2021
Tommy Lincoln drops into a much easier race at Albion Park on Saturday night but the flip side is he will have to overcome a very tough draw.
When Tommy took on the top free-for-all horses last week, and was a shade unlucky in running only sixth, he started from gate three and enjoyed a sweet trip in the running.
But in the opening race this week, as one of the best performed horses in a band four event, he is landed with the worst draw on the outside of the front line.
And with his main opposition Mach Da Vinci stranded three on the second row, trainer Mark Dux says it will come down to which of the pair gets the best run.
“It’s a tough draw all right but he’s still a top two chance. It will all depend on what happens in the running.”
Tommy Lincoln’s bid to lead last week was thwarted by pole runner Blacksadance who kicked up inside him on a sizzling 26.8 first quarter. He ended up with a one-one trail when Crunch Time looped the field to sit parked at the 700m.
But when driver Shane Graham tried to push out turning for home he was held in when first Crunch Time rolled out in front of him then Colt Thirty One came alongside.
“He did run up on to the back of (runner-up) Crunch Time and, while he wasn’t bolting, the way he hit the line he’d have finished closer if he’d been outside that horse,” Dux said.
As it was, with nowhere to go, Tommy Lincoln finished just 5.4 metres from the all-the-way winner Blacksadance who clocked a swift mile rate of 1:51.8 for the 1660 metres.
“And Shane said if he’d drawn inside Blacksadance he’d have won.”
On Saturday night, top junior Angus Garrard is back at the helm and Dux says he won’t be able to simply blast forward over the 2138 metres.
“There are a couple inside him who have good gate speed and one who will certainly park us.
“But he’s going as well as anything in the race and even if he has to sit parked he’ll be right in it again.”
Tommy Lincoln has racked up four wins and a third in just seven starts in Queensland for Lincoln Farms’ owners John and Lynne Street and their partners Ian Middleton, Shannon and Brenda Flay, Ian, Kathy and Daniel Parkinson, Debbie Sparks, Ray Menzies and Denis Ebert.
Tommy Lincoln races at 7.37pm NZ time at Albion Park on Saturday night.
More news in Harness
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Ray: Sammy Lincoln has ‘turned the corner’ and can go on with it on Friday night
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Ray’s comments
Friday night at Auckland
Race 1: Angelic Copy
4.53pm
“She’s done everything right and trialled really nicely. I think she’s forward enough to give some cheek. She’s only small. You like to think when you get a good two-year-old like her that they’ll get stronger and transition into a nice three-year-old but she hasn’t grown an inch. But she tries hard and enjoys being out there.”
Race 2: Major Copy
5.28pm
“I’m looking forward to seeing him. You never really know ’til you get to the races but he’s trialled well enough to start and I wouldn’t be surprised if he went a good race, despite the draw. He’s a nice sensible colt who’s done nothing wrong and he could develop into a really nice three-year-old.”
Race 6: Lincoln Wave
7.22pm
“He was starting to get into the habit of switching off so we trained him in blinds this week and he went pretty well. He was good from a standing start at the trials with shorteners in and Maurice was actually quite bullish about his standing start manners and thinks that, in time, he’ll end up being a quick beginner. If he steps well, and can land in the first one or two, he’ll definitely be hard to get round.”
Race 6: Sugar Ray Lincoln
7.22pm
“He’s not spectacular from a stand but he will get away, albeit sometimes a bit slowly. Lincoln Wave has more speed than him but if it comes down to a slugfest he’d be too strong as he’s rock hard fit.”
Race 8: Prince Lincoln
8.23pm
“The blinds go back on this week and if he steps and leads like he did three starts ago that would make him the one to beat. He showed with that win that he’s above average and will be a serious chance.”
Race 8: Rivergirl Bella
8.23pm
“You could argue she’s a Cambridge horse but sometimes when you throw them in with the bear cats they lift their game and I thought she was really good here last week. Tony (Cameron) said she’d have finished a bit closer too if he hadn’t had to take hold of her close to home (when he ran out of room and hit a marker pole).”
Race 8: Sammy Lincoln
8.23pm
“We’ve got blinds on him this week. Harry said he lost concentration a couple of times last week, including at the top of the straight, and thought he’d be a bit more on to it with blinds on. I still thought his was the run of the race last time - none of the others could have done what he did - and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him score.”
