Lincoln Farms turns Spiritual Bliss into a big winner - and now she’s off to the States

A golden run of six months at Lincoln Farms that turned Spiritual Bliss from a battler into a big winner has resulted in her sale for good money to the United States.

And joining the mare on the flight will be another tough Lincoln Farms pacer, five-year-old Leo Lincoln, who is expected to head to Canada to ply his trade.

Spiritual Bliss is to join the strong stable of Jared Bako and will race predominantly at Yonkers, according to Pukekohe agent Peter Blanchard, who brokered both sales.

Bako, who lies seventh on the US premiership, trains another former Pukekohe mare, Victoria Oaks heroine Coastal Babe, whom Blanchard also sold to the stable and has won five of her eight starts since arriving in New York, running second last start in the Grade 2 US$456,000 Ursula McIntyre Final.

Lincoln Farms’ co-trainer Ray Green says Spiritual Bliss has all the credentials to strengthen even further Bako’s line-up.

“I don’t see why she won’t do a good job in the States because she’s so tough and you’ve got to be tough over there.

“The weak ones don’t make it. They go fast and the first half is usually the quickest. That will suit her.

“It’s sad to lose her. I know her owner Dave Phillips didn’t really want to sell her but you can’t have your cake and eat it too.”

Spiritual Bliss certainly earned her tough badge in only 14 starts with Green and his training partner Nathan Delany.

When sent north by Phillips, the mare had won only two of her 39 starts and only one of her last 35.

But she settled right into the Lincoln Farms’ routine, and last December she won her first start for the stable and quickly extended it to four wins on end.

With five wins and three seconds from Lincoln Farms, Spiritual Bliss boosted her career tally to seven wins and 11 placings for $100,859.

The six-year-old earned $67,920 of that in the north, meaning that every time she lined up for Green and Delany her average earnings were $4851.

Second in the Listed Northern Mares’ Classic, Spiritual Bliss often had tough runs but still performed and in her last two starts at Auckland was best of the rest behind benchmark mare Francent.

Owner Dave Phillips in the winner’s circle at Auckland after Spiritual Bliss’ win in January.Salute from Phillips

Phillips, from his home in in the republic of Abkhazia on the Black Sea, said he saluted Green, Delany and all their stable staff whom he observed treating the mare like their own.

“As well as being mentally and physically prepared for the rigours of racing, a horse must also be happy and what they did with Bliss is a glaring example of a form reversal that needed to be seen to be believed.

“Her driver Harrison Orange was also an important link - Harry seemed to be able to communicate positively with Bliss on the racetrack, an attribute the great drivers possess.”

Phillips said it was not an easy decision to sell Spiritual Bliss but, with the lack of winter racing in the north for tighter assessed mares, she would have joined Jason Grimson’s Menangle stable in Sydney anyway this week.

Phillips said if he is to breed from Spiritual Bliss’ dam Spirit And Desire and a few other mares he owns, he needs cash flow from sales.

“But I’ve not given up hope of breeding from Bliss, it’s a dam line I’ve treasured since the early days. I hope that one day I might be able to buy her back for breeding in New Zealand.”

Phillips did the same with Spiritual Bliss’ fifth dam Tabella Beth who raced here in his Redvale Standardbred syndicate in the early 1980s before being exported to America.

Bringing the mare home resulted in the breeding of a number of stand-outs including Lazarus, Self Assured, Spirit of St Louie, Arafura and Ardiebytheseaside.

Leo Lincoln scoring his last win in the Country Cup on the Night of Champions at Cambridge. PHOTO: Megan Liefting/Race Images.Suited by hard miles

Leo Lincoln will also be suited by the hard mile racing in the northern hemisphere, says Green.

“Leo will love it, going a mile. He’s a genuine horse who will go good, honest races every week over there. They should get their money back very quickly.”

Green said Leo Lincoln had done an excellent job here, winning each season at two, three, four and five years old, and with eight wins and 16 placings all up, earned $135,886 from 62 starts.

“We got lucky with Leo, winning four really nice races - a Metro Final at Auckland, a Country Cup at Cambridge, and two good prizemoney races at Palmerston North.

“But he’ll win another one here and then what do we do with him after that? He’s got nowhere to go, whereas over there he could keep racing successfully for another two or three years.

“And we’ve got young horses banking up behind him. We can’t keep every horse.”

The Art Major - Alta Valencia five-year-old was raced by John and Lynne Street, Green, Ian Middleton, Glenn and Ann Cotterill and Phil Kelly.