Lincoln’s Girl and driver Hayden Barnes were too tough for their trial rivals yesterday. PHOTO: Dan Costello.
Strong trial win sees Al change tack with Lincoln’s Girl and target Tuesday mile
By Barry Lichter • 31 July 2019
Trainer Al Barnes will reserve Lincoln’s Girl for Albion Park on Tuesday after she scored a strong trial win on the course yesterday.
Barnes had planned to race the filly in Sunday’s A$7500 Marburg Oaks but her tough run yesterday has tilted him in favour of running next week for A$8500 over a more preferable distance.
“Rather than running in the Oaks over 2200 metres on an unfamiliar tight track, where she might over-race and pull, I thought she’d be better over 1660 metres on Tuesday for more money.
“She’s been a bit fresh and needed the hitout yesterday but did a power of work and won very convincingly.
“She started from two on the second row, went three wide to the chair and on to the top at the 800 and was too strong, winning by 1.9 metres.”
Lincoln’s Girl, freshened since the Queensland Oaks, clocked 1:59.4 in beating Bettor Vision over the 1660 metres, a mile rate of 1:55.8, home in 57.4 and 29.2.
A few minutes before Lincoln’s Girl trialled yesterday, Barnes won a race with former Lincoln Farms’ pacer Miss Blue Glory who paced similar time to Lincoln’s Girl.
Barnes will start Trojan Banner in Sunday’s Marburg Derby, confident he will improve on his seventh last night when he was forced to work overtime throughout the race.
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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.”
