Bookies will give you $7.50 for Lincoln Hills - and Lisa gives him plenty of ticks

Bookies have Lincoln Hills only the $7.50 fourth favourite for the second race at Awapuni on Saturday but he has everything in his favour to upset.

• He drops well down in grade to rating 74 grade after good recent efforts in open company.
• He jumps from the inside gate from where he maps to get the perfect trailing run
• He gets a 3kg weigh claim with in-form apprentice Sam O’Malley on board, taking his top weight down to 58.kg and
• He returns to his home track at Awapuni where he has notched three of his five wins.

Lincoln Farms’ trainer Lisa Latta has only one query about the All Too Hard six-year-old and that’s the track condition which is expected to improve from this morning’s dead 5 to a good 3.

In eight starts on good 3 footing Lincoln Hills has managed three placings.

But to his credit he has scored three wins on dead 4 ground and Latta says running early in the day, before the track dries out too much, will help him.

Lincoln Hills showed Latta he was right up to the mark with a good gallop on Tuesday, paired with stablemate Platinum Rapper he clocked a solid 49.4 and 36.3 on a good plough. “He should get a nice trip just behind the speed and I expect him to be a big chance.”

Latta is on an exploratory exercise with Platinum Petals in the third race, tackling good footing after her excellent debut second on slow 9 ground.

“We’re hoping she’ll handle it but we simply don’t know as all her jumpouts and trials were on tracks with a bit of rain.”

Latta knows it’s a big ask tackling the older horses with her Deep Field filly, especially with plenty of form in the race, but says it will tell her what path to follow after Saturday.

“She’s a big, strong girl, who’s going to stay so stepping up from 1400 metres to 1600 which will suit her.

“She’s looking really good at the moment and her work has been up to the mark. She’s been much better at home since we put a tongue tie on her.”

Platinum Petals, who gets a 2kg claim with Hazel Schofer, will eventually need a hood, says Latta, who wants to keep that move up her sleeve.

On debut at Otaki 15 days ago the filly sat on the pace throughout and kicked on bravely to run three lengths behind Montre Moi, photo-finishing two others in a close fight for second.