Leo Lincoln returns to scale at Cambridge, the 300th driving win for Andre Poutama. PHOTO: Ange Bridson.
Cambridge dead-heat gives Andre his 300 and more time for brave Leo Lincoln to furnish
By Barry Lichter • 11 August 2023
Even driver Andre Poutama thought he’d been beaten when Leo Lincoln and Cassius Clyde hit the line locked together at Cambridge on Thursday night.
Looking acoss at the Steve and Amanda Telfer-trained hulk, Poutama feared he’d been nosed out of a brave front-running win.
But the photo finish camera revealed a dead-heat - great for both driver and horse.
For Poutama, it marked a milestone 300 wins in the cart, in his seventh season as an open driver.
For Leo Lincoln it was a pleasant brake on his advance up the ratings - under the rules he will remain a maiden.
It was just Leo’s fourth race night start and Lincoln Farms’ trainer Ray Green believes it won’t hurt him to be able to get further experience in the lower grade while he continues to hone his craft.
“Dead-heating was a good result for him,” Green said. “And if he can contiunue to improve in the coming weeks I’d be very happy.
“He was a bit gormless when he started, slow on the uptake. But he’s starting to come to it and he’s been training down well in the last couple of months.”
Cassius Clyde ranges alongside Leo Lincoln, inner, close to home. PHOTO: Ange Bridson.Not that Green ever doubted Leo Lincoln’s ability.
“He’s got plenty of speed and I took a share in him myself because he was training so well.
“He just needs to get a bit stronger to be really effective.”
An Art Major gelding of average size, Leo Lincoln still showed plenty of guts to dead-heat on Thursday night.
Burned off the gate to cross Messenger Buoy rounding the first turn, Leo Lincoln looked to be in for a comfortable win when he shot two lengths clear into the home straight.
But, despite veering a little wide when mounting his challenge, the favourite Cassius Clyde powered home to share the honours right on the post.
“Andre thought he’d been beaten but said Leo tried really hard and dug right in up the straight. He thought it was a pretty good run.
“Who knows how far he’ll go? I can’t see him being a Sires Stakes horse at this stage but he’s still improving.”
The dead-heat, in a relatively sedate 2:46 for the mobile 2200 metres, home in 57.9 and 27.9, saw Leo Lincoln earn $4230 for Lincoln Farms’ owners John and Lynne Street, their business manager Ian Middleton, Glenn Cotterill, his mum Ann and Phil Kelly.
A $27,000 weanling buy at New Zealand Bloodstock’s Karaka 2021 sale, Leo Lincoln hails from the same family as Alta Intrigue who racked up four wins and 10 seconds for Lincoln Farms and was placed in the 2017 Northern Derby behind Raukapuka Ruler and Ultimate Machete before his sale to Western Australia were he won another 10 races.
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Ray’s comments
Friday night at Cambridge
Race 1: Spirited Belle
4.46pm
Delany: “I saw she’d been punted but somebody must know something we don’t as I’ve been working her myself and, while she feels all right and hasn’t put the boot in like at Auckland, I think she’ll need the run. She hasn’t got any high speed but feels like she will stay. She has improved a bit but I’d be surprised if she won.”
Race 1: Lincoln Maree
4.46pm
“It’s always hard from these draws but she’s a tough mare who will make her own luck at some stage. She’s going well enough - her drivers have all been happy - and she’s a little warrior who tries like hell.”
Race 2: Major Copy
5.12pm
“He’s only two and very inexperienced but he feels like a good colt and there’s a lot of improvement in him. He certainly caught a lot of people’s attention last time. I don’t know how good he is yet but he’ll be right there.”
Race 2: Prince Lincoln
5.12pm
“If he can lead without having to do too much work I can’t see anything beating him. I thought he went great last start. He pressed the winner hard ’til the corner then just flattened out in the run home, but he had every reason to do that after all the work he’d done.”
Race 4: Spirit Of God
6.12pm
“She’s been undone by bad draws. If she led easily from three she’d be hard to beat as she’s a good front-runner.”
Race 4: Spirited Peggy
6.12pm
“We’ve had her for only two weeks but she’s seven now and has had her chance to win one. She has a bit of speed but I think she gets pulling so we’ve got the Hidez (compression) hood on her and plugged her ears up.”
Race 6: Copy N Paste
7.10pm
“We won’t see the best of him for another six months. He’s been a slow developing horse but is improving all the time and getting stronger.”
Race 6: Jessie Lincoln
7.10pm
“If I was having a bet on one of them in the race it would be her. She deserves to win one. Her last two have been really good - she just ran into one who was a bit slicker last time in Major Copy.”
Race 6: Lincoln Dealer
7.10pm
“He’s a bit one-dimensional - you’ve got to feed him track and let him run - so the second row draw is a big handicap. To his credit I was surprised he finished so close last time after all the work he did. When he gets a decent draw and crosses them they’ll know they’re at the races. He’s got a big motor and tries hard.”
Race 8: Rivergirl Bella
8.08pm
“She clawed her way to the front last time but had nothing left at the finish. That won’t happen this time and she should lead easily from one.”
Race 8: Angelic Copy
8.08pm
“She’s had terrible draws but has been going good races. The others last time were just better than her but this is a big drop in class. With the right trip she could get some of it at huge odds.”
Race 9: Sugar Ray Lincoln
8.35pm
“He’s not quick away from a stand but he won’t muff it completely. He steps from the front line and Peter Ferguson was quite happy with his last run.”
Race 9: Lincoln Wave
8.35pm
“He bombed the stand the first time but to be fair all those horses were rushing up at him from the back and that panicked him a bit. He’s on 10 metres this time so that won’t happen.”
