Make Way runs them into the dust, smashing Goulburn track record for three-year-olds
By Barry Lichter • 29 April 2019
Make Way made a real statement at Goulburn today, leading almost the entire way to score in track record time for a three-year-old.
And, incredibly, the Australian rating system sees the horse eligible for the same grade at his next start!
Lincoln Farms’ smart colt did exactly what trainer-driver Anthony Butt predicted today, gunning out to wrest the lead after a couple of hundred metres and running his rivals ragged in 2:42.3, a mile rate of 1:56.6, taking a whopping 2.2 seconds off the three-year-old mark for 2240 metres.
When Butt put his foot down before the home turn only I’m Bruce Almighty could stay with him, closing the gap to 1.2 metres close to home.
Anthony Butt … Every time Make Way lines up he’s competitive.“He had to burn at both ends and we were the only one that did work early to be still there at the finish,’’ says Butt. “The others were dropping out down the back.
“I think they might have hand timed it and mucked the sectionals up but his overall time was electric.’’
The fierce tempo set by Make Way was reflected by the fact the third horse home, Hellofalass, was 18.5 metres behind the runner-up.
The win took Make Way’s Australian record to two wins, three seconds, one third and one fourth from eight starts, a model of consistency which Butt admires.
The A$13,750 in prizemoney he has earned takes his overall season tally to more than $50,000.
“There’s nothing major on the horizon for a while. We’ll just poke around and look for the same sort of race for him and keep the money coming in.’’
Make Way kept his army of supporters happy, paying $1.40 on the New Zealand tote and $1.30 in Australia (not $133 as recorded!).
More news in Harness
Johnny Lincoln’s big ticker will stand to him in the States and Lover’s also sold to Aussie
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.”
