Loveable Rogue gets up inside Lincoln Lover near the finish but just fails to catch him. PHOTO: Peter Rubery/Race Images.
Canny Fergie drive gets Lincoln Lover home at Taupo - and it won’t be his last win
By Barry Lichter • 27 January 2026
It might have taken Lincoln Lover 16 starts to break his duck but driver Peter Ferguson doesn’t think a step-up up in grade now will stop him.
The little Bettor’s Delight gelding showed plenty of grit to just prevail in a tight four-way finish at Taupo on Monday, his half head victory down to the canny skills of Ferguson who led but held the horse back to the field as long as possible.
“Matty was having trouble holding his one (Colonel) so I let him put his head in front but with no passing lane, I was trying to keep the field all boxed up,” Ferguson said.
The tactic worked and by the time James Stormont was able to squeeze through on the trailing Loveable Rogue it was too late.
“He wasn’t handling the (rain-affected) track 100% - he was rocking and rolling part of it - so I had to hold his head but we got there.”
Lincoln Lover gets a half-head call over Loveable Rogue, obscured, with Colonel and The Miki Taker close-up. PHOTO: Peter Rubery/Race Images.Ferguson said Lincoln Lover, who had racked up five seconds before Taupo, will appreciate running against winners going at a faster tempo.
“Until now he’s had to make all his own luck. But if they run along, he’ll find the line so I don’t think the next grade will worry him.”
Lincoln Lover’s pedigree also suggests his winning isn’t done - he’s a half brother to the speedy nine-race winner Aramis (Sir Lincoln) who went to the States and paced 1:53.2.
Lincoln Lover’s bankroll hit $25,452 with the win, a decent early return for John and Lynne Street and their partners Paul Wyatt, Jason Deane and Brent Mulholland.
Newcomers Deane and Mulholland got involved through being the successful bidders on “half of a horse” put up by John Street at a charity auction.
Opting instead for 25% in two horses, they first went into Kevin Kline and, when he was sold after six wins, were transferred to Lincoln Lover.
They also have a share in a Bettor’s Delight two-year-old filly named Lincoln Gold who is a little sister of Lincoln Farms’ Lincoln Linda.
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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.”
