Al working overtime to fix foot abscess that could rob Bondi Shake of a start - and win
By Barry Lichter • 4 March 2021
On paper, Bondi Shake will be a $1.50 shot and winning the eighth race at Albion Park on Friday night.
There’s just one snag.
On Wednesday trainer Al Barnes discovered the three-year-old has an abscess in his off front foot which he is now working round the clock to fix.
“It’s only mild and I should get it right but you can never tell with these things.
“When they’ve got abscesses it’s like they’ve got a broken leg but, as soon as they burst, they’re good as gold.
“We’ve got to get there first but, if he does, he should just be winning, even from the outside of the gate.”
The opposition Bondi Shake faces is vastly easier than the three-year-old field he contested last Saturday night when he ran a fine third.
Sent forward by driver Hayden Barnes, Bondi Shake was parked briefly before landing the one-one sit. And when Barnes took off three wide 400 metres from home Bondi Shake surged up to the leaders, maintaining a strong run to the line to be beaten only 11 metres by red hot pot Dance In The Sun in a 1:55.3 mile rate.
On Friday the best of his rivals look to be second line runner Hurrikane Hour, who has yet to win at Albion Park and has raced in weak company at Redcliffe in seven of his nine starts, and Onlysbest who has a four from eight record but has yet to go as fast as Bondi Shake and hasn’t raced for three months.
Bondi Shake has compiled a consistent record for Lincoln Farms’ owners John and Lynne Street and their partners since arriving in Queensland, recording three wins, five seconds, one third and three fourths from 14 starts.
Bondi Shake races at 12.22am NZ time at Albion Park on Friday night.
More news in Harness
Johnny Lincoln’s big ticker will stand to him in the States and Lover’s also sold to Aussie
No Jumals to beat this time at the Park so Ray’s looking for Lincoln Wave to roll in
Lincoln Linda best of the night at Cambridge - she has the engine to cross Soul Artist
Cheapie Johnny Lincoln a “proper” racehorse who can foot it with the Million bluebloods
Our runners this week: How our trainers rate them
Ray’s comments
Thursday night at Cambridge
Race 1: Rivergirl Bella
5.44pm
“She did well here last time as she had to do a bit to get to the lead and she dug in and fought on. She’s certainly a chance if she repeats that effort.”
Race 4: Lincoln Linda
7.09pm
“I thought she went super last time after doing a lot of work. She can do that because she has an engine and is tough. She’s a bit one-dimensional - you have to turn her loose early - but from the two draw she should be able to lead and that’s where she does her best work.”
Race 5: Sugar Ray Lincoln
7.34pm
“I think he’s a bit stronger after his spell. It’s not a great field - most will die on that mark - and I don’t see a problem with the standing start as he’s nicely gaited. He could be marginally unfit after three months out but he’s done quite a bit of work and I can see him going a half-decent race.”
Race 6: Lincoln Maree
7.59pm
“She had every chance last time but I can’t see why she won’t go well again. She’s as honest as they come and tries like hell.”
Race 7: The Night Fox
8.29pm
“You’d think he’d lead easily from the inside. He’s had bad draws and still got the money, so I’m sure he’ll go another good race. I’m surprised they sold him so cheaply. He’s better than people think.”
Ray’s comments
Friday night at Auckland
Race 1: Lincoln Wave
5.09pm
“With the trip he got in the Harness Million I thought he’d have run on a lot better. But he was still a bit short on fitness and sometimes we can expect too much of these horses, he was racing the best, after all. It’s a big drop in grade here and he’s a pretty fair horse.”
Race 1: Leo Lincoln
5.09pm
“He’s an honest sort who’s in a good space but he won’t get a wonderful trip from the outside of the gate this time so I’m not holding my breath.”
Race 3: Sammy Lincoln
6.04pm
“He’s training down well but you never know what he’s going to do. You think you’ve got him sorted and he does something silly. But we know if the real Sammy turned up, he’d be very hard to beat as he’s got a lot of speed.”
Race 5: Prince Lincoln
7.05pm
“He’s another where you don’t know which one will turn up but we’ve gelded him since his last run, so we’ll see if that helps. He trained well the other day.”
