Brisbane downer: Super trial then hamstring injury takes Tommy out of play
By Barry Lichter • 7 July 2023
Impressive trialist Tommy Lincoln will be scratched from Albion Park on Saturday night after hurting himself in the paddock yesterday.
Trainer Mark Dux had been looking forward to seeing Tommy Lincoln resume after his electric 1:51.8 trial win on the course last week, when he downed Bondi Lockdown by 15 metres, untouched.
But the horse was feeling so well, bucking and playing, Dux suspects he slipped in his paddock and did the splits.
“He’s strained or torn his hamstring muscle so we can’t run him. He’s walking OK but he’s quite tender and doesn’t like you touching it.”
The injury to the muscle, which runs down from the tail and provides much of the driving force, needs time to settle and heal, says Dux. “It could be week or two, but it’s impossible to tell. It’s just a shame he’s done it now rather than a month ago.”
Mark Dux … Tommy Lincoln had come back better than ever.Tommy Lincoln, who hasn’t raced for just on three months, had come back better than ever, Dux said.
“I was really happy with his trial. He got home in 26.7 and did it so easily, Mathew (Neislon) never moved on him.”
The only consolation is that Tommy’s barrier on Saturday night would probably have taken him out of play anyway.
Emergency for the A$53,000 Mr Feelgood feature, where he drew the outside of the gate, he also had a bad second row alley in his alternative race, similarly stacked with in-form pacers.
“He would have raced well but it would all have been down to luck.”
Unlucky run
The injury to Tommy Lincoln continues an unlucky run for Lincoln Farms’ Queensland team with Argyle still recovering from damage to his heel.
The horse missed work when an abscess blew out in May and, after he resumed in early June and disappoined in running seventh, it was discovered a good proportion of his foot was rotten inside.
“We had to peel a lot of it away and it’s taken time to grow back. This is the first week he’s been walking sound.”
On a more positive note, Captain Nemo is nearing racing trim again after taking a long time to get over being gelded.
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Ray’s comments
Friday night at Auckland
Race 2: Jessie Lincoln
5.25pm
“This is her first run back and first at the Park but I’m expecting her to be very competitive. She ran a nice trial and she seems pretty good. I think she’ll be in the money. She’s a much stronger individual after her break - the big ones tend to take a little longer to make. I like her. She’ll be winning races for sure.”
Race 4: Johnny Lincoln
6.16pm
“We’re testing the water with him but he’s a proper racehorse and, drawn one, he won’t be far off them. I can’t see him beating those others but he’s a little tradesman who is a worthy candidate for the race.”
Race 4: Lincoln Wave
6.19pm
“You just have to forget about his last start because of the puncture and assess him on the previous two runs. We’re not expecting a huge effort from him - he’s on his way back up after a five-week break and there’s a fair bit of improvement in him. But I think he’s a very nice horse and I’m not afraid to front up to the good ones with him. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if he got into it, even from five. We still don’t really know what we’ve got with him. But whatever he does on Friday night will tidy him up for the next one.”
