Al’s winning recipe: We’ll just leave Larry alone and let him do his own thing
By Barry Lichter • 29 October 2020
With another good draw, Larry Lincoln can go back to back at Albion Park on Friday night.
“It looks a very winnable race again,” says trainer Al Barnes. “The field’s no harder than the one he beat last week.”
Larry Lincoln was confidently tipped by Barnes as a winner last Friday after brilliant track work during the week and he duly obliged, capitalising on a trailing trip with a telling late sprint.
Part of the reason for the form turnaround was also that Barnes instructed his son Hayden not to burn the horse early, but to let him find his feet.
Barnes also learned last week that Larry doesn’t like to be stressed late with the whip or even have his hood pulled. When that happened in the run home he jammed his tail and went from bolting to not wanting to run.
So this week Larry will be left to do his own thing - not only at the start but also at the finish.
With two Redcliffe level horses drawn inside him, you’d think it would be a given that Larry will cross them from three but Barnes says whether that happens will depend on how fast they leave the gate.
“He can go forward and try to lead but we don’t want to burn him early, we’ll just let him slide forward. He can get a little keen.”
Regardless of where he settles, Barnes says the Sweet Lou three-year-old, with his natural speed, will be hard to beat again over only 1660 metres.
Larry Lincoln races at 8.52pm NZ time at Albion Park on Friday night.
More news in Harness
Lincoln Wave scorches in, still on target for richer races and Sammy’s making progress too
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
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.”
