Awkward draw shouldn’t stop ‘perfect wee racehorse’ from getting into the derby finish
By Barry Lichter • 20 June 2019
Make Way has an awkward draw in Saturday night’s A$21,150 Redcliffe Derby but that shouldn’t stop him from getting into the money, says top driver Anthony Butt.
“If he’d drawn where Dazzle Me is (three) he would have been really hard to beat,’’ says Butt. “He still will be but its harder when one of the favourites is up front.’’
With the scratching of Lincoln Farms’ other runner Trojan Banner through a minor injury, Make Way moves in to five, but he is still the widest on the front line.
And that, says Butt, virtually forces him to go back at the start or risk being parked very wide round the turning triangular track.
“I’ve got no worries at all that he’ll handle Redcliffe because he’s such a perfect wee racehorse and he got round little tracks like Leeton and Penrith.
“I’d say I’ll be mooching forward at some stage as you don’t want to get too far back at Redcliffe.
Make Way finishes an outstanding third in his lead-up race at Penrith after mounting a sweeping run wide from the back.
“I’m sure it will be a good, competitive race, as they’re all pretty even, but I thought Make Way’s lead-up race at Penrith last week was outstanding.’’
Beaten just a half head and neck in a driving four-way finish, Make Way was at a distinct disadvantage starting from four on the second row.
“I tired to push through early and got squeezed out of a gap and then got behind one who was pulling back and ended up a long way back.
“And once Leonidas got parked I couldn’t make a move as he wouldn’t have let me go.
“He did very well to finish where he did as it’s hard to come three wide from the back on that track.
“It was a perfect lead-up run, after his break, and he came through it well.’’
Butt says he’s found through his experience of travelling horses that their second run is usually better than their first, once they’ve completely settled in.
“But he’ll be pretty right on Saturday night. He travelled up here really well and hasn’t missed a beat since he’s been here - he ate and drank everything last night.’’
Butt and his trainer partner Sonya Smith floated their horses north from Sydney on Tuesday after the Menangle races, breaking the trip up overnight at a horse motel halfway to Brisbane.
Top driver Anthony Butt is in great form already in Brisbane.“I’m glad we did that as when we got here yesterday the total trip was 12 hours.’’
Make Way is being stabled at Logan Village, 45km out of Brisbane, where he is staying with a long-time friend Ricky Thurlow.
Thurlow drove two winners for Butt’s brother Tim at Albion Park on Tuesday, Running Free and Superbass, while Butt was on the road, but he’ll be back at the helm this weekend with some plum drives.
Butt was in great touch at Albion Park last Saturday night, reining home Majestic Courtney and Im Rocknroll Magic for his brother and Barrett for Mark Jones and Aaron Goadsby.
Barrett, who is a rival for Make Way in the Redcliffe Derby, clocked a slick 1:52.7 mile rate for the 1660 metres.
“But he got a great run (in the trail) and I’m sure Make Way would have done the same.’’
Make Way races at 8.43pm NZ time at Redcliffe on Saturday 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.”
