Watch the Hustler’s Redcliffe Cup run through Hayden’s eyes and see just how brave he was
By Barry Lichter • 30 June 2020
Owners can’t share the sulky with their driver in a race but the next best thing is to see how their horse performed through the driver’s eyes.
And what better race to enjoy that vision than last Saturday night’s Redcliffe Gold Cup when in a thrilling finish Northview Hustler was pipped in the last stride.
In the video above, Lincoln Farms and its partners can watch Hayden Barnes’ every move on the Hustler, thanks to Racing Queensland and Panasonic Studio Productions which hooked him up with a camera.
In the description that follows Barnes takes us through the race from the moment the tapes released:
“My first plan was to get inside the No.1 horse. It was having its first standing start and in its trials it had stood flat-footed. I thought if I stepped fast enough I could get inside it, but it stood there, then jumped left and got in my way again.
“Once I got around it, Hustler went really quickly and we slotted into the running line.
Driver Hayden Barnes with his trainer dad Al.“I was waiting for them to back off just enough so I could get going (around them) but they just kept running (at track record pace).
“I wanted to be the first horse three wide because last year in the same race I left it too late and they came out in front of me and got in my way.
“When I took off (three wide at the 900) on Saturday he cruised his way up there and was really travelling. And when I took over before the turn I thought he’d bolt in.
“I could feel him getting tired halfway down but when he saw the other horse (Sole Ambition) coming he pricked his ears and dug in even more.
“You don’t get to drive horses who try that hard too often but he just ran out of condition that last little bit and I could feel him pulling up.
“I hate getting beaten on the line like that and maybe I should have sat up for 50 metres before I let him go.
“But the really good thing is he’s still got a lot of improvement in him. His heart rate when we first took it after the race was 97 and after he was swabbed it only came down to 94 which shows how much fitness he still has to go.
“Quite a few people have said to me he’s come back a different horse this time and the way he’s racing you have to agree.
“I know his next race (the Wondai’s Mate on July 11) is only over a mile but, if he draws well, he’ll be in with a good shot.”
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Ray’s comments
Thursday night at Cambridge
Race 1: Lincoln LInda
5.14pm
“The fillies she raced against in the Sires’ Stakes Semi were the best around so this is a massive drop in class for her. I imagine Fergie will work his way forward, as she’s best in front, and then she’d become the one to beat.”
Ray’s comments
Friday night at Auckland
Race 1: Prince Lincoln
5.16pm
“The draw helps as he likes being in front. The raw ability is there but from time to time he’s reluctant to show it. But that last start was a vast improvement.”
Race 1: Colonel Lincoln
5.16pm
“He was definitely in need of the run first-up and will benefit from another. He’s been off the scene for a long time.”
Race 5: Sugar Ray Lincoln
7.08pm
“He did well second-up, peeling off a 55.1 half. He’s been a slow maturer but I think he’s getting stronger as he gets older - he certainly feels much stronger in his work.”
Race 5: Lincoln Wave
7.08pm
“The Cambridge race has brought him on and I’m sure he’ll go well again, but he won’t be butchered a week out from the Derby. I don’t want to get carried away but he’s a pretty good horse, the best of our three in the race. He’s a year younger than Suger Ray but has a bit more ability. It’s hard to know where he’ll take us but he has the potential to be a classic colt.”
Race 5: Leo Lincoln
7.08pm
“He’s in the zone, he’s feeling really great, and he won’t go badly. But he’ll need luck from the draw.”
Race 9: Spiritual Bliss
9.04pm
“She’s racing better horses now and has done well to cop getting parked in some hard-run races. Leading is her go and she’ll get her chance from the inside draw.”
Race 10: Rivergirl Bella
9.36pm
“She has got a bit of speed but she can’t carry it very far. But if she gets the right trip, and gets out at the right time, not too soon, she’s always a chance.”
Race 10: Jessie Lincoln
9.36pm
“Harry blamed himself for the horse breaking at the start at Cambridge - he said he asked her to go a bit too quickly off the gate. She shouldn’t do it again. She’ll hold her own here, I’m sure.”
Race 10: Marylynes Boy
9.36pm
“He’s been training well but he’s only a little colt having his first start and from the second row I think Nathan will be happy to just see him get around safely.”
