
Nathan Jack gets Just Hope home for an upset win in the NSW Oaks earlier in the year.
Nathan’s not just hailing a cab - he’s catching a flight to make sure he can drive Simply Sam
Trainer Ray Green is hoping Simply Sam flies at Ballarat on Friday night because that’s exactly what his driver will have to do just to make the start line.
Top driver Nathan Jack has six drives at Wagga, 540km away, earlier in the day and handles his last one at the Riverina Raceway at 5.52pm NZ time.
With a driving time of five and a half hours between the two tracks, and Simply Sam’s race carded for 11pm NZ time, Jack would have no chance of arriving in time.
But Green was comforted to hear this afternoon that Jack will be flying back to Melbourne after his last drive before catching a car ride for the 117km trip to Ballarat, an hour and a half away.
Simply Sam is the only engagement at Ballarat for Jack, who has been contracted to drive all Lincoln Farms’ team during the Victorian campaign, Copy That in particular.
“These boys are keen, all right,” said Green of the effort Jack is making on Friday. “But I’m expecting it to be worth it for him.
“I think he’ll go very well. I can’t imagine him going badly.”
Simply Sam, winner of five of his last seven starts, has only five three-year-olds opposing him in the A$15,000 Holloway Classic. And, on paper, there’s only one danger, Captain Ravishing, who is a rating 56 horse, all of 20 points inferior to Simply Sam but highly spruked by his connections.
Captain Vanishing (Anthony Butt) hit the headlines in his first two starts.The Captaintreacherous colt made headlines winning his first two starts at Melton last December and January and breaking the three-year-old track record for 1720 metres with a mile rate of 1:52.5.
While only fourth in the Caduceus Classic, second in a NSW Derby heat and last in the final, he still impressed top reinsman Anthony Butt with his beautiful gait.
Captain Ravishing has since moved from Ahmed Taiba’s stable to the top barn of Emma Stewart where he is reported to be working the house down in preparation for his first start in six months.
“I hear he’s pretty good but we can’t be worried about any of the others,” Green said. “We’ve got the class horse in the field and while he hasn’t raced for nearly two months he trialled nicely behind Copy That back home.”
Allowed only to run home from the back that day, Simply Sam gave driver Zachary Bucher a good feel and was just a neck, half a head and two and a half lengths behind Copy That, Taipo and Major Perry, a smart first-up winner last week.
Simply Sam last raced on July 15 when he exploded round the field six wide turning for home at Auckland and powered home to beat Zarias and Riverman Sam in the Winter Cup (2700m).
His record reads five wins and three placings from 11 starts for John and Lynne Street and their partners Kim Miller, Robert and Donna Best, Priscilla Edmunds, the Red and Blue Syndicate and the Green Machine Racing Syndicate.
He is being aimed at the A$200,000 Victoria Derby on October 8.
Simply Sam races at 11pm NZ time at Ballarat on Friday night.
More news in Harness
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After 40 years in the sulky, Fergie’s just loving his renaissance in the lincoln green silks
Big-spending Mike Tanev snares The Rascal and he’s off to Canada next week
Dreams Of Eric goes from black and blue to blue and white, now for Harness 5000
Our runners this week: How our trainer rates them

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.”