Louie The Punter … saying goodbye to New Zealand. PHOTO: Trish Dunell.
No more punting on Louie, Ray says enough’s enough and dispatches him to Brisbane
By Barry Lichter • 24 February 2022
Louie The Punter will be on a flight to Australia in nine days, the latest victim of New Zealand’s crippling handicapping system.
And Lincoln Farms’ trainer Ray Green says he’s confident the horse can win some good money over there and remain competitive, a combination that’s impossible under the much maligned ratings scale here.
Green says there’s no future for Louie The Punter in this country and he’ll struggle to cope with the opposition in Friday night’s seventh race at Auckland, especially from gate five.
“He’s just been marking time here whereas in Australia he can be placed so much better, find his right level, and be a decent enough racehorse.”
Green says as soon as the Sweet Lou four-year-old scored at Cambridge two starts back he was virtually history in New Zealand.
For winning a $4950 stake, the horse went up seven ratings points to 58.
That meant that the following week, when entered at Cambridge again, the only race he could run in was the Cambridge Classic, where he was expected to compete against one of the fastest horses in the country, New Zealand Free-for-all winner South Coast Arden, who was a rating 103 horse.
Green naturally scratched his horse, as did others, leaving it a four-horse race.
Owners, increasingly racing uncompetitive horses, aren’t just scratching from races, they are opting out entirely. The imminent departure of Louie The Punter comes after one of the busiest months of sales overseas, one agent reporting the strongest demand in the last 10 years as Australia and America feel the pinch of smaller foal crops and look to New Zealand to compensate.
Louie The Punter’s exit also completes the sale or export to Australia of all Lincoln Farms’ horses over the age of three, Merv Butterworth’s New Zealand Cup winner Copy That aside.
Louie The Punter, who has won three of his 20 starts for John and Lynne Street and Glenn and Ann Cotterill, will be trained at Woongoolba in south-east Queensland by Mark Dux who prepares former stablemates Tommy Lincoln and Captain Nemo.
He will be joined on the flight by unraced two-year-old filly Tempting Tigress who has been bought from Kevin Pizzuto by leviathan owner Danny Zavitsanos.
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Third time lucky for Wave’s little bro Omaha Lincoln who finally debuts at Auckland
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
“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.”
