Double Or Nothing, arrowed, finishes close up in fourth after being badly held up in the running.
Unlucky Double Or Nothing gets a draw to be on the speed and hard to beat on Tuesday
By Barry Lichter • 27 January 2020
Double Or Nothing should finish top two at Albion Park on Tuesday but he’ll still need to race up to his best against a field of older and seasoned pacers.
Drawn two in a field of seven, trainer Al Barnes expects to see his son Hayden either lead or trail on Lincoln Farms’ consistent three-year-old.
And that would put him in a winning position and eliminate the bad luck which saw him finish only fourth last start.
Double Or Nothing was caught three wide on a blistering opening quarter of 26.9 on January 17 but eventually lobbed a beautiful one-one trial.
Double Or Nothing, arrowed, is full of running and looking to get out of a pocket.But when Hayden wanted to pull the trigger on Double Or Nothing he was hemmed up in traffic, held up all the way round the home bend and well into the home stretch before being able to angle into the clear.
Double Or Nothing finished on strongly to be only 4.5 metres from winner Flying Wingard, almost in line with the second and third horses.
“But he didn’t ping like we thought he would,” says Barnes. “That’s why Hayden stayed in because we thought he had a more brilliant turn of foot. We’re still learning about him but it seems that while he has good speed he needs time to wind up.
“Hayden might want to lead on Tuesday and I’d say he’ll be either there or in the trail and from there he should go close, and finish in the top two.
“But he’ll have to do a good job because it’s a reasonably strong race and there are plenty of seasoned, older horses against him and the one horse (Rocknroll Classic) goes nicely.”
Barnes says Double Or Nothing will find it a little harder than former stablemate Trojan Banner did on his arrival in Brisbane last year.
That’s because the new national ratings system had not yet begun and Trojan Banner was so lowly assessed despite his record he was able to win seven on end.
“He’s probably rated a bit higher than he should be but we’ll see if he can handle it. He should do.”
Double Or Nothing made an instant impression first-up in Brisbane when he looped the field and ran away to score in a 1:55.4 mile rate.
The winner’s time last start was 1.1 seconds slower and they only crawled home in 59.2 and 30.2.
Double Or Nothing races at 4.53pm NZ time at Albion Park on Tuesday.
More news in Harness
Emotional night at the Park as Sammy Lincoln steps up for John and his sister Maree
Rivergirl Bella finally delivers - and Phil kicks himself for not being there or having a punt
This is it, Sammy, the draw’s a bit of a pain but you can eat these non-winners for breakfast
Prince Lincoln finally shows what he’s made of - and, wow, was that a blazing demolition!
Our runners this week: How our trainers rate them
Ray’s comments
Thursday night at Cambridge
Race 1: Rivergirl Bella
5.14pm
“She tries hard and is getting stronger. She just needs a trip to be right there.”
Race 3: Copy N Paste
6.16pm
“Maurice said he got a bit tired on debut but I didn’t expect a lot. Four months ago you’d have wondered if he’d ever qualify. He’ll improve on that - he’s improving all the time - but from seven he’ll have to go back and come into it late.”
Race 5: Lincoln Linda
7.14pm
Update: Scratched
“She’s up in grade but is a chance again if she can get a good run up the front of the field. It was a good effort last time to break 2:43.”
Race 8: Lincoln Maree
8.49pm
“She’s trained on OK and, while no champion, has to be a chance down in grade against the amateur horses.”
Ray’s comments
Friday night at Auckland
Race 4: Jessie Lincoln
6.57pm
“I can’t see her beating Sammy Lincoln but with a good draw at last you’ll see a better performance. She’s capable of finishing in the first three.”
Race 4: Spirit Of God
6.57pm
“She bolted in at the workouts, leading out from a wide gate and getting home in 27.9. She’s a great driving little mare and has good manners. I could see her winning one very soon.”
Race 4: Sammy Lincoln
6.57pm
“I know we’ve said it before but he has been unlucky a few times and, all things being fair and square, it’s hard to see him beaten. The draw is awkward but everything points to him winning. There are no derby horses in there and he went a great race in the Northern Derby last start.”
Race 4: Marylynes Boy
6.57pm
“He’s a tidy little horse. I can’t see him winning from the (second row) draw but he’s like Spirit Of God, he’s not far away from winning one.”
Race 5: Sugar Ray Lincoln
7.25pm
“He’s been a late developer. You can see it in his growth, his withers have finally popped up, and he’ll get better as time goes on. He’s no champion but he should be a handy horse through winter. He’s capable of stepping away fairly well.”
Race 5: Leo Lincoln
7.25pm
“It’s a toss-up between the two of them. Sugar Ray is a bit stronger perhaps but Leo is very good from a stand. You can forget that last run in the Messenger - he was only in there to help get the race off the ground.”
Race 7: Prince Lincoln
8.25pm
“He finally showed us what he’s got last week. Inside second row draws can be awkward - you’re at the mercy of the others - but he could end up with a good trail behind the leader.”
