Frankie Major and Lincoln River join exodus to Australia as reality of northern harness bites

Frankie Major and Lincoln River have run their last races for Lincoln Farms, the latest victims of the badly depleted horse population in the north, and will continue their careers in Australia.

The talented pair have been bought by leading Melbourne owners Merv and Meg Butterworth after Lincoln Farms’ management reluctantly decided there was no future in continuing to race them here.

“It’s sad, and as much as we’d like to support the industry here, an organisation like Lincoln Farms has to make commercial decisions for ourselves and our owners,” said business manager Ian Middleton.

Lincoln Farms, which has Frankie Major in Friday night’s main $25,000 pace at Alexandra Park, which it sponsors, says it makes no sense to keep racing the four-year-old here when he has to bash heads with vastly superior horses.

In a ridiculously wide rating band, the rating 60 Frankie Major finds himself again up against New Zealand Cup winner Self Assured (R120), the winner of $2.29 million and Mach Shard (R96), a 17-race winner of $630,000.

It is the second week on end that Frankie Major has had to race the pair - last Friday night he also had one of the best pacers in the country in Merlin to contend with.

And, while he trailed Merlin throughout and battled bravely only 2.9 lengths away, last of four, both Middleton and trainer Ray Green says it’s not a sustainable scenario.

“I can’t place him here any more,” says Green. “He’s just cannon fodder for the top horses and Lincoln River only has to win one or two more races and he’ll be in the same boat.”

“It’s madness,” says Middleton. “They want horses to stay here but if we can’t make money for our owners and ourselves, why keep them?

“We’re running for place money at best so it makes no sense financially.”

David Turner, right, Phil Kelly, middle, and David Hooker with Lincoln River after one of his wins at Auckland.Middleton says while everyone has had a buzz out of racing the pair - Frankie Major has won six races and Lincoln River five - he can see that quickly dissipating now. Running down the track continually was no fun for anyone.

“And when you finish fourth or fifth a few times in a row they lose their value.

“At some stage you have to make a call and when the opportunity comes along to sell, you have to do it.

“Simply Sam (R63) is another one we may well have to sell or send to Australia. He’s a couple of metres behind the best. Where do we start him now he’s up in the grades? We’re entertaining offers on him at the moment.

“We’ve always had a few racing in Ausralia but the times in Queensland are getting very slick now and if you don’t draw the front line it’s very hard to win.”

Middleton says he’s sure both Frankie Major and Lincoln River will do great jobs in Australia for the Butterworths.

“Merv paid a fair price and he’ll be able to place them far better over there and make money out of them.

“Unfortunately until we can attract more owners in the North Island, and bolster our fields, selling is all we can do to survive.

“We all enjoy the fun of racing but if it’s costing us too much money, why do it?”

Lincoln Farms would place its owners into other horses who had a better chance of returning a profit in the future, he said.

2700 metres no problem

Green isn’t giving Frankie Major much chance of upsetting the favourites on Friday night but doesn’t believe racing over 2700 metres for the first time will trip him up.

“He’s a nice relaxed runner who doesn’t beat himself up. I thought he went a really good race last week. He lapped on to those other three and was less than three lengths from Merlin.”

Frankie Major was clocked to run his closing 800 metres in 57.2 and 400 in a slick 26.6.

Simply Sam, who starts on the front line along with Frankie Major, blotted his consisent form line at Hawera but Green says to ignore that run, his first on grass.

Simply Sam was out of luck right from the start when awkwardly away then hampered by a breaker. He apeared to have dropped the bit when out the back and falling away from the 600.

“We know he’s normally a fast beginner so he should get a good trip from one.

“If he finished in the first three I’d be rapt, even fourth would be a good effort for him.”

Earlier in the night My Copy drops in grade to a rating 35 to 51 race, compared with last week’s rating 51 to 56, but his draw of six will present problems, says Green.

“He needs a trip to run in the money. He can’t go out there and put it to them.”

Lincoln River gets in on the wrong side of the ratings in the fourth face, the lowest rated horse in a 52 to 59 race.

But the trade-off, in a very strong line-up, is he draws the pole so he should get an economical trip.

Last week Lincoln River finished on for sixth, reeling off impressive splits of 55.7 and 27.2, an indication Green says he’s racing better than his form line suggests.

Lincoln Farms’ owner John Street with Glenn Cotterill, right, one of the PAK’n SAVE owners who joined the Lincoln River partnership.Lincoln Farms’ owners John and Lynne Street, in particular, will have mixed feeling about saying goodbye to Lincoln River.

The little fighter credited them with their 1000th win as horse owners last June and he had a wide group of owners.

As well as David Turner, Phil Kelly, David Hooker, Barbara O’Mara, Dave Jones and Lin and Tina Guo, Lincoln River brought in 11 PAK’n SAVE owners to harness racing.

The Streets generously gave away 50% of the beautifully bred Bettor’s Delight - Ideal Belle pacer at a charity auction in Auckland.

And it saw Glenn Cotterill, Rayner Bonnington and nine other PAK’n SAVE owners, attending Foodstuff’s 100-year celebration dinner, bid $100,000 to benefit the Foodies Foundation.