Fergie takes the initiative and Onyx Shard delivers again for the galloping buddies

It was only a mid-week meeting at Manawatu but Onyx Shard still brought plenty of joy to Lincoln Farms and her owners.

The Sweet Lou four-year-old notched her third win on Tuesday for Lincoln Farms’ business manager Ian Middleton and his galloping mates Paul Humphries and Ian Harris.

“A win’s a win as anybody in horses will tell you they’re hard to come by. Paul was thrilled to win as she’s still his only pacer.”

Harris also toasted the success, though the $6050 winner’s purse would hardly have registered, given he has a share in topliner Republican Party who took home $40,000 for running sixth in last week’s The Race by Betcha at Cambridge and has a bankroll of $756,340.

Onyx Shard now has career earnings of $35,184 from 24 starts and with a six point re-rating now finds herself on R45.

“She’s no world-beater but she can compete in the lower grades. But she’s limited here in that she’s better the left-handed way round so it’s ether Manawatu or Cambridge.

“Ray Green has always said she’s a nice mare who’ll keep improving but as with all Lincoln Farms’ horses she’s for sale. We were offered a lowball price recently but it was unrealistic.”

Co-trainer Nathan Delany with Onyx Shard who kept up Lincoln Farms’ good recent record at Manawatu. PHOTO: Jack McKenzie.With the last two-day Manawatu meeting scheduled for the end of the month, Middleton expects Onyx Shard will again be part of the Lincoln Farms’ team which has been campaigned successfully by co-trainer Nathan Delany in the Central Distrcits in recent weeks.

And Middleton is happy for Peter Ferguson to retain the drive after his mid-race move round the field to park proved the winning of the race.

“Like all horrible armchair drivers I liked seing her put in the race. He must have heard my comments on Sunday when I said there’s no use going from the turn because you can spit down the straight there.”

The difference, of course, was that on Sunday Onyx Shard’s opposition went 3.3 seconds faster than on Tuesday, preventing Ferguson from getting round from the back.

“It was quite a strange race yesterday, they went hard early, and Fergie made his move at just the right time when they slowed.”

At the line, Onyx Shard was still fighting and had a neck on Dixieland Delight, the 2000 metres run in 2:30.1, a mile rate of 2:00.8.