After a gold medal prediction Mark now looks to maximise Captain Nemo’s earnings

Captain Nemo’s owners will be hoping trainer Mark Dux is as correct about his predictions for the horse’s future as he was about how the horse would run at Albion Park last night.

In the most accurate of race mapping imaginable, Dux signalled exactly how the race would pan out, where Nemo would be in the running, and even which horse would challenge and prompt driver Angus Garrard to eventually send him to the front.

From there, Nemo was in total control, holding all challengers at bay in his typical do-no-more-than-I have-to style to score by 1.8 metres.

And Garrard’s post-race report that the horse again only did just enough to score, buoyed Dux in his assessment of what lies ahead for the five-year-old.

“He never wins by a big space. They came to him and he just kept half a length in front, just enough to hold them.

“He’s definitely not finished yet, there are a few more wins in him and, while it will start to get harder now, and it will be more awkward to place him, he’ll still race well in the next class.

“He’ll handle himself well because he’s so strong and I think he’ll get to top company.”

Dux cannily switched Nemo to last night’s band 5 race because it carried the top stake of A$21,378 - nearly A$6000 more than the tightest class race in which stablemate Tommy Lincoln finished a close-up fourth.

Angus Garrard brings Captain Nemo back after another tough win, the 12th of his career and seventh in Brisbane.The A$12,125 winner’s purse boosted Nemo’s Australian bankroll to A$56, 218 and career total to $111,140 for Lincoln Farms owners John and Lynne Street, Gareth Paddison, the Green Machine Syndicate, Grant Dickey, Peter Dougherty and Ian Middleton.

Managing Nemo’s future will now be all about maximising his earnings.

“We’ll try to get every dollar we can by winning a couple more country races before we win a Saturday band 4.”

Nemo now faces the task of racing better performed horses when he contests a Saturday metro race as they’re most often for band 4 to band 2 pacers.

“I’m not over the moon that he has to race against that class because band 2 is only one step off free-for-all class. But he can win a band 4, band 3 and band 2 race before he has to race horses like Tommy.

“I can’t see him not winning those next three band races and that’s where we can win more serious money.”

In the meantime, Nemo can contest a normal ratings race next Saturday night for up to R80 pacers, providing Dux uses a junior claim.

“Luckily next week’s 10k ratings race isn’t a metro race and he’ll get only four points if he wins. That doesn’t happen often on a Saturday.”

Dux says Captain Nemo should compete against the best at faster clips because he has a good turn of foot even when they run hard.

“We know he’s got speed or he couldn’t run the sectionals he does.”

Tommy Lincoln finishes close up in fourth after doing a power of work in the running.Nemo will be joined again next week by Tommy Lincoln, who raced huge last night, working hard to park, hitting the lead 400 metres out, and fighting bravely for fourth, just 2.5 metres from the winner Rock Bottom.

“Tommy was super. He just went a bit quick down the back straight. I’m not saying he would have won, but it would have been close.

“He just keeps picking up cheques, not the biggest cheques, but he gets one every week.”

It was a good night all round in the cheque department for Dux who geared up three winners, also bagging a A$20,770 race with Alwaysbme and a A$14,396 trot with 10-year-old former Kiwi Matatoki.