Kevin Kline is starting to go away from Beta Prepare at Auckland on Friday night. PHOTO: Megan Liefting/Race Images.
Everybody’s favourite Kevin tops $50,000 - and Ray tips there’s plenty more in store
By Barry Lichter • 7 June 2025
Everybody loves Kevin.
Around the stables, his great temperament endears him to the workers.
On the racetrack, his never-say-die attitude impresses his drivers.
And among his big group of his owners, he never stops earning praise.
Punters know him as Kevin Kline and, while he was only the sixth favourite of seven starters at Auckland on Friday night, he again rewarded the faithful with his fourth win in just 10 months of racing.
And such has been his progress at Lincoln Farms, co-trainer Ray Green says he’ll be very surprised if he doesn’t progress further up the ranks.
“He’s flown under the radar a bit. But he’s a nice horse who’s getting better and better and there’s no reason why he can’t go on with it.”
Leased from Waikato breeder Pat Laboyrie when just being broken in, Green soon saw enough to recommend Lincoln Farms’ owners John and Lynne Street exercise a right of purchase.
And today, racing the three-year-old in partnership with many of their party faithful, it’s all going swimmingly.
Brent Mulholland, Priscilla Edmunds, Lance Myocevich, Jason Deane, Trevor Casey, the Red and Blue Syndicate, Ray Menzies, Dave and Daphne Jones and Margaret Rabbitt can’t help but have been impressed by Kevin’s performance on Friday.
After dropping to the rear from five on the gate, driver Maurice McKendry made a short-lived bid to improve down the back straight the first time, thewarted by rivals moving out in front of hm.
Driver Maurice McKendry is taken by the way Kevin Kline just keeps going.Still second last at the bell, McKendry waited until turnng out of the back straight the last time before unleashing Kevin Kline on a three-wide challenge.
And, despite the slushy conditions, he kept up a strong run to get the better of Beta Prepare 50 metres out and win comfortably by three-quarters of a length.
Timed to run the 2200 metres in a respectable 2:42.9, Kevin Kline was clocked over his last 800 in 58.6 and 400 in 29.8.
“He worried them all out of it and was going away at the finish,” Green said. “Maurice said he was impressed because he just keeps going. He likes the horse, everybody does.
“He’s a big, tall gangly horse but he’s great gaited and will only strengthen up.”
Incredibly, the Always B Miki-Matai Mies gelding has topped $50,000 in virtually a single preparation, having started racing only in August last year.
And consistency has been a trademark of his performances, with four wins and eight placings from just 22 starts, finishing in the top four 15 times.
Green, while ruing the fact he would now jump to an R59 rating in an system that he says overly penalises winners, believes the horse has the game to keep rewarding his followers.
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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.”
