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!).
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Ray’s comments
Friday night at Auckland
Race 4: Tyson
6.59pm
“He was tough again in winning last week. He’s trained on well, is in good shape, and should be right in it.”
Race 4: Sugar Ray Lincoln
6.59pm
“He’s finally getting his act together - he’s gone three good races in a row - and seemingly turned the corner. We’ve had a lot of (vet) work done on him, his feet in particular, and it’s paid off. There’s not much between him and Tyson.”
Race 5: Rivergirl Bella
7.23pm
“She’ll need everything to go her way from the draw. But she’s got a bit of speed. She’s getting there. She wasn’t very strong before and wasn’t tracking too well, but she’s driving right now.”
Race 5: Lincoln Linda
7.23pm
“She’s had a few issues, mostly mental ones, and is still a bit of a handful. It wasn’t very pretty last week but we’re slowly getting her under control. The outside draw might actually help her.”
Race 5: Angelic Copy
7.23pm
“She needs only a half decent trip to feature. She got held up a little bit in the straight at a crucial time last week and that was that.”
Race 6: Prince Lincoln
7.49pm
“He’s drawn the best of ours in three. He got cheated for a run last week. It’s hard to know where he’d have finished without that.”
Race 6: Lincoln Lover
7.49pm
“Ferg reckoned if he’d been able to hold up in the trail last week he would have won. He was very bullish about how he’d gone. The draw’s no help but he can do a bit of work. He’s an honest little guy who saves his best for when the money’s up on racenight.”
Race 6: Johnny Lincoln
7.49pm
“He got a bit keen last week but he should be a lot better this time. He’s still learning and he’s a slow learner. When he does things correctly he’s a pretty nice horse. Hopefully he can get a suck into it from the second row draw.”
