Frankie Major whistles past Upsize Me to score at Cambridge. PHOTO: Chanelle Lawson.
Lincoln Farms’ Cambridge double all down to perfect displays by Magic Man McKendry
By Barry Lichter • 13 May 2022
Two perfect drives by Maurice McKendry landed Lincoln Farms a double at Cambridge on Thursday - but trainer Ray Green isn’t getting carried away by the results.
McKendry was at his brilliant best when he cuddled up Frankie Major three back on the markers, extricated him at the end of the back straight, then angled out to sprint past the favourite Upsize Me.
And a few races later he gave Argyle the perfect run in the one-one before snatching the honours from Mr Incredible, his half length margin flattering the runner-up.
The double proved only a curtain-raiser for the ‘Magic Man’, however, as he then pulled out an inch perfect front-running drive to get Hot And Treacherous home by a nose over A G’s White Socks in the feature Flying Mile.
“Maurice drove both ours beautifully, especially Frankie Major. We’ve always known that he had a good sprint like that. He’s done that at the trials plenty of times but that’s the first time he’s shown it on raceday.
“But the drop in class definitely helped him and I still think he needs a short break, maybe three to four weeks.
“He’s only two and it would be a bit cruel to start him up the next grade.”
Argyle gets the measure of Mr Incredible close to home. PHOTO: Chanelle Lawson.McKendry said while Argyle looked reluctant to run past Mr Incredible, he was inclined to switch off in the run home before easily reeling in the leader.
“He’s still very green and the drop in class helped him too. We’ll give him another try at Auckland and see how he fronts up but we’re not getting carried away with him.
“He won’t get away with sectionals like 60.1 and 30.4 at Auckland.”
Green was disappointed not to see how Next Go Me and Colonel Lincoln fared in the fourth race. The event was abandoned when debutant Rubble died after choking down and falling 1300 metres from home.
“It was very unfortunate for the connections of the horse, nobody likes to see that happen.
“Andrew (Drake) was adamant he was going to get the money with Next Go Me but then Maurice said the same about Colonel Lincoln.”
Both horses were travelling well, Next To Me outside the leader Private Eye, and Colonel Lincoln three back on the markers.
More news in Harness
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No Jumals to beat this time at the Park so Ray’s looking for Lincoln Wave to roll in
Lincoln Linda best of the night at Cambridge - she has the engine to cross Soul Artist
Cheapie Johnny Lincoln a “proper” racehorse who can foot it with the Million bluebloods
Our runners this week: How our trainers rate them
Ray’s comments
Thursday night at Cambridge
Race 1: Rivergirl Bella
5.44pm
“She did well here last time as she had to do a bit to get to the lead and she dug in and fought on. She’s certainly a chance if she repeats that effort.”
Race 4: Lincoln Linda
7.09pm
“I thought she went super last time after doing a lot of work. She can do that because she has an engine and is tough. She’s a bit one-dimensional - you have to turn her loose early - but from the two draw she should be able to lead and that’s where she does her best work.”
Race 5: Sugar Ray Lincoln
7.34pm
“I think he’s a bit stronger after his spell. It’s not a great field - most will die on that mark - and I don’t see a problem with the standing start as he’s nicely gaited. He could be marginally unfit after three months out but he’s done quite a bit of work and I can see him going a half-decent race.”
Race 6: Lincoln Maree
7.59pm
“She had every chance last time but I can’t see why she won’t go well again. She’s as honest as they come and tries like hell.”
Race 7: The Night Fox
8.29pm
“You’d think he’d lead easily from the inside. He’s had bad draws and still got the money, so I’m sure he’ll go another good race. I’m surprised they sold him so cheaply. He’s better than people think.”
Ray’s comments
Friday night at Auckland
Race 1: Lincoln Wave
5.09pm
“With the trip he got in the Harness Million I thought he’d have run on a lot better. But he was still a bit short on fitness and sometimes we can expect too much of these horses, he was racing the best, after all. It’s a big drop in grade here and he’s a pretty fair horse.”
Race 1: Leo Lincoln
5.09pm
“He’s an honest sort who’s in a good space but he won’t get a wonderful trip from the outside of the gate this time so I’m not holding my breath.”
Race 3: Sammy Lincoln
6.04pm
“He’s training down well but you never know what he’s going to do. You think you’ve got him sorted and he does something silly. But we know if the real Sammy turned up, he’d be very hard to beat as he’s got a lot of speed.”
Race 5: Prince Lincoln
7.05pm
“He’s another where you don’t know which one will turn up but we’ve gelded him since his last run, so we’ll see if that helps. He trained well the other day.”
