Swollen legs and high temperature ruin Tommy’s Albion Park comeback
By Barry Lichter • 21 January 2022
The much anticipated return to the track by Tommy Lincoln has been delayed after the horse came down with a virus this morning.
Trainer Mark Dux was confident he had Tommy Lincoln primed for a bold run at Albion Park on Saturday night, after an absence from the track of three months.
But the horse’s legs were all swollen this morning and when Dux took his temperature it was an alarming 102 degrees.
The symptoms are exactly the same as those that struck stablemate Captain Nemo 10 days ago.
“I had to give him some bute to get his temperature down and if it follows the same course as Captain Nemo it could spike again in a day or two.”
None of the other 20 horses at Dux’s Woongoolba stable, 40 minutes south east of Brisbane, are ill and the trainer believes it could be a case of the Kiwi horses having no immunity to the bug which does the rounds at the same time each year.
“It’s strange it took him 10 days to pick up what Nemo had but it’s a common enough virus and shouldn’t take long to settle down. I only had to give Captain Nemo a week off.”
Dux says it’s just annoying that after 10 weeks work and two trials he had Tommy Lincoln ready for a big race on Saturday night when he had drawn to lead a $20,000 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.”
