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.
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Ray’s comments
Friday night at Auckland
Race 4: Tyson
6.59pm
“He was tough again in winning last week. He’s trained on well, is in good shape, and should be right in it.”
Race 4: Sugar Ray Lincoln
6.59pm
“He’s finally getting his act together - he’s gone three good races in a row - and seemingly turned the corner. We’ve had a lot of (vet) work done on him, his feet in particular, and it’s paid off. There’s not much between him and Tyson.”
Race 5: Rivergirl Bella
7.23pm
“She’ll need everything to go her way from the draw. But she’s got a bit of speed. She’s getting there. She wasn’t very strong before and wasn’t tracking too well, but she’s driving right now.”
Race 5: Lincoln Linda
7.23pm
“She’s had a few issues, mostly mental ones, and is still a bit of a handful. It wasn’t very pretty last week but we’re slowly getting her under control. The outside draw might actually help her.”
Race 5: Angelic Copy
7.23pm
“She needs only a half decent trip to feature. She got held up a little bit in the straight at a crucial time last week and that was that.”
Race 6: Prince Lincoln
7.49pm
“He’s drawn the best of ours in three. He got cheated for a run last week. It’s hard to know where he’d have finished without that.”
Race 6: Lincoln Lover
7.49pm
“Ferg reckoned if he’d been able to hold up in the trail last week he would have won. He was very bullish about how he’d gone. The draw’s no help but he can do a bit of work. He’s an honest little guy who saves his best for when the money’s up on racenight.”
Race 6: Johnny Lincoln
7.49pm
“He got a bit keen last week but he should be a lot better this time. He’s still learning and he’s a slow learner. When he does things correctly he’s a pretty nice horse. Hopefully he can get a suck into it from the second row draw.”
