Atta boy Billy, your timing to erase the recent pain was brilliant - and so was Opie’s

Billy Lincoln continued the roller-coaster run for Lincoln Farms and its principals with the progeny of Princess Maryanne when he picked himself up off the canvas to win at Trentham on Saturday.

Clearly headed by the favourite Sindee and The Scunner early in the run home, Billy Lincoln came back under a beautifully timed Opie Bosson ride to score by three-quarters of a length.

The win, in faster time than that recorded later in the day by Wellington Guineas winner Grail Seeker, augured well for the horse’s future, some consolation at least for recent cruel losses by owners John and Lynne Street and their business manager Ian Middleton.

While Princess Maryanne’s first foal Lincoln Rocks was sold for big money to Australia after an impressive win at Hastings last April, the coin flipped completely when her beautiful Sweynesse two-year-old won a jumpout in style but fractured a leg after the post and had to be destroyed.

And on Boxing Day last year the mare’s second foal, Lincoln Lady, who showed blazing speed to lead and win four races in a row, pulled up lame after the Newmarket Handicap at Pukekohe and was retired to stud after just seven starts.

But worse was to come recently when the arthritis in her knees got so bad Haunui Farm owner Mark Chitty recommended the kindest outcome was to euthenase her rather than put her through what would have been a painful pregnancy.

So to see her full brother, by Belardo, win his second of only six starts in a $65,000 event on the Champagne Turf, where Lincoln Farms sponsored a race on Saturday, seemed only just.

Billy Lincoln fights back to beat The Scunner and Sindee at Trentham. PHOTO: Peter Rubery/Race Images.Trainer Stephen Marsh had been hoping Billy Lincoln would make the Wellington Guineas - his rating was too low to make the field - but he was pleased to see how hard the horse dug in up the long home straight.

And the effort has prompted him to step the gelding up to 1600 metres for his next start, a three-year-old race at Pukekohe on April 6.

“I know he’s been better left-handed but he has to go right-handed eventually and he’s done plenty of work that way round.

“They won’t go as quick over 1600 metres so he should jump out and put himself on the speed.”

That’s exactly what Bosson did on Saturday, joking with the horse’s connections on returning to scale that, despite being headed, he always had things under control.

Watching from the grandstand, Middleton said he wasn’t surprised Billy had something left, after being allowed to cruise along, compared with the heavily-backed Sindee who had done plenty of chasing.

Marsh, observing Billy Lincoln was improving all the time, said he expected the phone to start ringing with offers for the horse.