Make Way (Andre Poutama) leads Parker early in his heat at Pukekohe today with Trojan Banner heading the rest of the pack.
Make Way shows early lick at Pukekohe workouts
By Barry Lichter • 20 October 2018
Make Way showed another string to his bow for Friday night’s Sires’ Stakes heat when he scored a convincing win at the Pukekohe workouts today.
Trainer Ray Green was delighted to see Make Way sprint off the arm in his heat, leading for the first part of the 2050 metres before handing up to stablemate Trojan Banner.
And it was that early part of the workout, more than his powerful finish to reel in Trojan Banner by a head, which earned the big tick from Green.
“He hasn’t shown any gate speed before so it’s nice to know he has some.’’
Both Make Way and Trojan Banner tackle the last Sires’ Stakes heat in the north at Auckland on Friday night and showed they were perfectly primed.
Timed over the trip in 2:36.5, the pair clocked a mile rate of 2:02.9 and closed in 58.8 and 28, with half a length to Ideal Star and a head to Best Western.
Recco Lover trails the Barry Purdon pair On The Cards and Mach Shard at Pukekohe today.Recco Lover strong
Recco Lover, placed in each of his four starts this campaign, showed he was hard fit for Friday night when third behind the much higher rated Barry Purdon-trained pair On The Cards and Mach Shard.
Recco Lover led out then trailed before unwinding strongly to finish on the back of On The Cards and Mach Shard, with slick sectionals of 57.1 and 26.5.
They cut out the 2500 metre stand in 3:15.2, a mile rate of 2:05.7.
Mathew James weak
Mathew James dropped to the rear of his 2050 metre heat from widest on the gate and never improved, outpaced when the sprint went on and beat only one home.
Two-year-old pair smart
Sweet Lou colts Perfect Stride and Double Or Nothing, the best two-year-olds in Lincoln Farms’ barn, handled their first test behind the mobile in great style.
Double Or Nothing (David Butcher) led Perfect Stride (Zachary Butcher) and Man Of Action (Andre Poutama) in the running, all three behaving well amid the extra buzz of workout day.
When Man Of Action broke on the final bend after leaning on his pole the leading pair cleared out, clocking 59.2 and a sharp 27.5, Perfect Stride credited with a half head margin at the post.
“That’s the fastest they’ve gone,’’ said Green of the 2:07.9 mile.
All three colts are bred to be good, Perfect Stride a half brother to leading New Zealand Cup fancy Chicago Bull, Double Or Nothing a half brother to Tim Butt’s Let It Ride, winner of his last six starts including the Group I Blacks A Fake, and Man Of Action a half brother to cup contender Forgotten Highway.
Double Or Nothing leads Perfect Stride and Man Of Action in the two-year-old learners’ heat today.
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.”
