Double Or Nothing and Sir Tiger look to be undone by their barrier draws on Tuesday
By Barry Lichter • 3 February 2020
Barrier draws will make it tough for both Double Or Nothing and Sir Tiger to win at Albion Park on Tuesday, trainer Al Barnes thinking they’ll both need top drives or a lot of luck, or both, to even earn place money.
Barnes entered Double Or Nothing for a rating 65 to 75 race, figuring that in a higher grade with a preferential barrier draw he would land the pole.
And from there, given the way he raced last time, the horse could have “given them a shake.”
But instead of using the national rating system, the handicappers ranked the field on money won in the last four starts, which sees Double Or Nothing in gate four.
And with a lot of speed inside him, Barnes says he can’t see Double Or Nothing being able to cross to the pegs.
Double Or Nothing finishes second last time to Rocknroll Classic, a rival again on Tuesday.“And he doesn’t try as hard from behind. Brendan said he was bolting (in the trail) last time and thought he was going to win for fun but he rushed up to the girth of the leader and that’s as far as he wanted to go.
“I specifically put him in this race to get a good draw, rather than starting him in an up-to-65 race and drawing the outside of the second row.
“But if he burns out from four it could be for nothing. The two horse (Machin Out) wouldn’t hand up and he probably wouldn’t cross the one (Recipe For Dreaming) either.
“I don’t know where he’ll end up in the running now. It’s a hard race to assess with so much speed. It looks like he might have to come with one run again and that makes him a place chance at best.”
Barnes holds out even less hope for Sir Tiger from the outside of the gate in the following race.
The race is for rating 50 to 55 horses, much weaker than the opposition he faced last time in the Rising Stars Championship Final, when he came from four deep for fifth, finding the 1:52.1 mile rate beyond him.
Brendan Barnes … felt Sir Tiger give up when he lost a helmet to follow.But Sir Tiger is not a horse who can be used up early and still find the line, so driver Hayden Barnes will be virtually forced to go back from the arm.
Since deciding to drive Sir Tiger more conservatively, he has run some respectable races but he is still not the most genuine.
“Brendan said he was travelling really well on the helmet of the horse in front of him last time but when that horse pulled out, and he lost the helmet, he gave up a bit.
“It’s going to be tough from out there. He might be able to slide forward - Hayden will just have to assess what they’re doing early - but it’s more likely he’ll go back and take short cuts.
“Either way it’s going to take a great drive and a lot of luck to win.”
Double Or Nothing races at 5.33pm NZ time at Albion Park on Tuesday.
Sir Tiger races at 6.12pm NZ time at Albion Park on Tuesday.
More news in Harness
Hopes for a good Friday night at the Park as blinds go on Wave, Sammy and Prince
Sugar Ray signals start of good year ahead with tough win; blinkers for Lincoln Wave
Winners and losers in dates for the new season - your month by month harness guide
Ray: Sammy Lincoln has ‘turned the corner’ and can go on with it on Friday night
Our runners this week: How our trainer rates them
Ray’s comments
Friday night at Auckland
Race 1: Angelic Copy
4.53pm
“She’s done everything right and trialled really nicely. I think she’s forward enough to give some cheek. She’s only small. You like to think when you get a good two-year-old like her that they’ll get stronger and transition into a nice three-year-old but she hasn’t grown an inch. But she tries hard and enjoys being out there.”
Race 2: Major Copy
5.28pm
“I’m looking forward to seeing him. You never really know ’til you get to the races but he’s trialled well enough to start and I wouldn’t be surprised if he went a good race, despite the draw. He’s a nice sensible colt who’s done nothing wrong and he could develop into a really nice three-year-old.”
Race 6: Lincoln Wave
7.22pm
“He was starting to get into the habit of switching off so we trained him in blinds this week and he went pretty well. He was good from a standing start at the trials with shorteners in and Maurice was actually quite bullish about his standing start manners and thinks that, in time, he’ll end up being a quick beginner. If he steps well, and can land in the first one or two, he’ll definitely be hard to get round.”
Race 6: Sugar Ray Lincoln
7.22pm
“He’s not spectacular from a stand but he will get away, albeit sometimes a bit slowly. Lincoln Wave has more speed than him but if it comes down to a slugfest he’d be too strong as he’s rock hard fit.”
Race 8: Prince Lincoln
8.23pm
“The blinds go back on this week and if he steps and leads like he did three starts ago that would make him the one to beat. He showed with that win that he’s above average and will be a serious chance.”
Race 8: Rivergirl Bella
8.23pm
“You could argue she’s a Cambridge horse but sometimes when you throw them in with the bear cats they lift their game and I thought she was really good here last week. Tony (Cameron) said she’d have finished a bit closer too if he hadn’t had to take hold of her close to home (when he ran out of room and hit a marker pole).”
Race 8: Sammy Lincoln
8.23pm
“We’ve got blinds on him this week. Harry said he lost concentration a couple of times last week, including at the top of the straight, and thought he’d be a bit more on to it with blinds on. I still thought his was the run of the race last time - none of the others could have done what he did - and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him score.”
