Lincoln’s Girl showed real stamina to win her Pot Of Gold heat over Timeless Appeal.
Lincoln’s Girl and Vasari to boost Al Barnes’ already terrific strike rate for Lincoln Farms
By Barry Lichter • 30 May 2019
Lincoln’s Girl and Vasari look beautifully poised this weekend to extend an already impressive strike rate for Queensland trainer Al Barnes with Lincoln Farms horses.
Lincoln’s Girl will start a hot favourite in the Pot Of Gold Final at Albion Park on Friday night and Vasari will be at even more restrictive odds on Saturday night, both drawn to jump straight into the driving seat.
Al Barnes … terrific strike rate with Lincoln Farms’ horses.Barnes is now training four pacers for Lincoln Farms and its partners and his record since the first two arrived at his Marburg stables in February now reads:
- Trojan Banner: Five starts, five wins
- Northview Hustler: Two starts, two wins
- Vasari: Four starts, one win and
- Lincoln’s Girl: Eight starts, three wins.
That’s an incredible 11 wins from only 19 starters and now that Barnes has Lincoln’s Girl and Vasari worked out, his strike rate can only improve.
Given how dominant Lincoln’s Girl was last week in winning her heat of the Pot Of Gold, we’ll be lucky to get $2 for her to take out the $10,960 final, run at 6.53pm on Friday night.
A perfectly executed drive by Barnes’ son Hayden saw Lincoln’s Girl overcome a second row draw that night, when she clocked a superior 1:54.2 mile rate.
“We’ve got lucky with the draw this time and from four on the front she should roll straight to the top,’’ says the trainer.
Lincoln’s Girl’s main dangers have all drawn the second line, last week’s favourite Cherrys The Best, snookered on the inside and likely to end up three deep, Timeless Appeal, three the second row, and the other much slower heat winner Im No Outlaw outside her.
“Lincoln’s Girl should be able to run home in 55 and that will make it hard for them to catch us.’’
Barnes says Lincoln’s Girl is improving and getting stronger all the time and after Friday he will start educating the filly at a longer trip.
It’s Vasari first, the rest nowhere, as he scorches to a 1:52 mile rate.Unbackable odds
Vasari, drawn perfectly in the ace on Saturday night, 10.49pm NZ time, meets much higher rated pacers but will be at unbackable odds after his supersonic 1:52 mile rate win last week.
“The horses drawn outside him don’t have the speed to cross him and he’ll lead again and be very hard to beat.’’
Vasari ran one of the fastest miles by a lower graded pacer at Albion Park last week when he clocked 1:55.5 for the 1660 metres, clearing out by 17.6 metres.
“He’s come through that really well,’’ says Barnes. “He’s easy to maintain.’’
While Vasari is a c4 horse in a race that has horses graded up to c9, Barnes says with the right horse and draw, the events are not hard to win.
The only horse in the field that has gone anywhere near Vasari’s 1:52 mile rate is Karinya Mully who clocked a 1:53.7 rate in her last-start win.
The fastest times run by the two horses drawn alongside him are 1:56.8 (Earl Jujon) and 1:56.4 (Oliver Winkle).
Lincoln’s Girl races at 6.53pm NZ time on Friday night.
Vasari races at 10.49pm NZ time on Saturday night.
More news in Harness
Rivergirl Bella finally delivers - and Phil kicks himself for not being there or having a punt
This is it, Sammy, the draw’s a bit of a pain but you can eat these non-winners for breakfast
Prince Lincoln finally shows what he’s made of - and, wow, was that a blazing demolition!
Hey Wendy and Amy, go easy of Fergs as he’s doing a sterling job taming Lincoln Linda
Our runners this week: How our trainers rate them
Ray’s comments
Thursday night at Cambridge
Race 1: Rivergirl Bella
5.14pm
“She tries hard and is getting stronger. She just needs a trip to be right there.”
Race 3: Copy N Paste
6.16pm
“Maurice said he got a bit tired on debut but I didn’t expect a lot. Four months ago you’d have wondered if he’d ever qualify. He’ll improve on that - he’s improving all the time - but from seven he’ll have to go back and come into it late.”
Race 5: Lincoln Linda
7.14pm
Update: Scratched
“She’s up in grade but is a chance again if she can get a good run up the front of the field. It was a good effort last time to break 2:43.”
Race 8: Lincoln Maree
8.49pm
“She’s trained on OK and, while no champion, has to be a chance down in grade against the amateur horses.”
Ray’s comments
Friday night at Auckland
Race 4: Jessie Lincoln
6.57pm
“I can’t see her beating Sammy Lincoln but with a good draw at last you’ll see a better performance. She’s capable of finishing in the first three.”
Race 4: Spirit Of God
6.57pm
“She bolted in at the workouts, leading out from a wide gate and getting home in 27.9. She’s a great driving little mare and has good manners. I could see her winning one very soon.”
Race 4: Sammy Lincoln
6.57pm
“I know we’ve said it before but he has been unlucky a few times and, all things being fair and square, it’s hard to see him beaten. The draw is awkward but everything points to him winning. There are no derby horses in there and he went a great race in the Northern Derby last start.”
Race 4: Marylynes Boy
6.57pm
“He’s a tidy little horse. I can’t see him winning from the (second row) draw but he’s like Spirit Of God, he’s not far away from winning one.”
Race 5: Sugar Ray Lincoln
7.25pm
“He’s been a late developer. You can see it in his growth, his withers have finally popped up, and he’ll get better as time goes on. He’s no champion but he should be a handy horse through winter. He’s capable of stepping away fairly well.”
Race 5: Leo Lincoln
7.25pm
“It’s a toss-up between the two of them. Sugar Ray is a bit stronger perhaps but Leo is very good from a stand. You can forget that last run in the Messenger - he was only in there to help get the race off the ground.”
Race 7: Prince Lincoln
8.25pm
“He finally showed us what he’s got last week. Inside second row draws can be awkward - you’re at the mercy of the others - but he could end up with a good trail behind the leader.”
