Career stifled but good looking Lincoln’s Command finally makes debut

Lincoln’s Command might not be ready to win at Waipukurau on Thursday but Lincoln Farms owners John and Lynne Street could be excused for celebrating just getting him to the races.

Now five years old, it’s just a few weeks short of three years since the good looking son of Pentire was bought for $240,000 at the ready to run sales.

X-rays showing how a similar cyst in the stifle was fixed with a screwBut any thoughts of racing the horse had to be shelved when it was discovered he had a cyst in his stifle. When surgeons operated on him they used a relatively new technique, inserting a transcondylar screw to stimulate the bone to heal and fill in the cyst.

But while the procedure avoided disruption of the joint surface, it aggravated the horse’s lameness and eventually a second operation had to be done to remove the screw.

“He must have been out for a good 18 months,” says trainer Lisa Latta. “And it’s taken a long time to get him back. It’s always a worry having a problem in that area but he’s sound now and has been training well.”

Latta was buoyed when Lincoln’s Command ran on well for third in his first trial at Foxton on August 28 but the horse looked woeful at his next trial on September 18, when slow to find his feet and dropping well off the pack.

“We found he was knocking himself in behind and have adjusted his shoeing accordingly and this seems to have had the desired effect.

“His last couple of gallops have been very good.”

Latta says, however, that Lincoln’s Command will need a longer trip than Thursday’s 1350 metres to show his best.

It’s no wonder Lincoln’s Command cost $240,000 when he looked like this at the ready to run sale.“He’s a good looking horse who will stay but it’s far too short for him and he lacks the ringcraft. It would just be nice to see him finishing on.”

Lincoln’s Command has a lot more than his good looks going for him. Out of a Zabeel mare in Zambezi, his grand dam Tall Poppy won 11 races and great grand dam Fun On The Run won 18 races.

His full brother Zambezi Warrior was a very talented stayer for Te Akau in 2017.

Latta believes race eight runner Johnny Lincoln might need one more run before he shows his best but improvement can be expected from his first-up run at Wairarapa.