Queensland champion Colt Thirty One claims Northview Hustler late at Albion Park tonight.
Northview Hustler runs out of ammo close to the line - Colt Thirty One pops him in thriller
By Barry Lichter • 20 June 2020
Trainer Al Barnes is looking forward to the next few weeks with Northview Hustler after the game little black pushed Queensland star Colt Thirty One to a long neck in his first start for more than three months at Albion Park tonight.
The Hustler easily found the lead for stand-in driver Pete McMullen and looked to have the hot favourite in trouble turning for home when he shot clear.
But Grant Dixon’s headliner, who was parked from the bell, rallied bravely up the markers to nail the Hustler late, with McMullen reporting the Lincoln Farms horse just peaked on his run.
“But that was to be expected in his first run back,” said Barnes. “He ran home in 54.6 and it took Colt Thirty One to beat him so it was an awesome run.”
Barnes is excited about the amount of improvement still in the Hustler as immediately after the race his heart rate was high at 108.
“When he’s spot on it’s 80 to 85 and drops to the high 60s after 10 minutes. So that’s a very good sign.
Al Barnes … Northview Hustler has so much improvement left in him.“He’ll keep improving and I’d say it will take three runs before he hits his peak.”
Providing the Hustler pulls up well and eats, Barnes will take him to Redcliffe next Saturday night for the A$25,630 Gold Cup, a standing start test over 2613 metres, which will suit him even more than tonight’s 2138 metres.
“If I’m not happy with him this week we can bypass Redcliffe but I think he’ll be right.”
Barnes said he wasn’t surprised the Hustler showed so much gate speed tonight.
“We’ve always known he had gate speed but we’ve seldom had the opportunity to use it from bad draws.”
Barnes noticed that whereas the Hustler is usually very placid before his races, tonight he was very playful, indicating he was a happy horse.
“Pete was rapt with his effort and the horse pulled up great.
“He’ll have a pretty easy week. I’ll give him a quiet hitout on Wednesday and he should be spot on.”
Colt Thirty One, who has now won 37 of his 64 starts for more than A$850,000, clocked 2:31.8 for the 2138 metres, a mile rate of 1:54.2, exactly the same time Northview Hustler clocked in winning his last race last September.
Third-placed Subtle Delight was 4 metres behind the Hustler in third.
Northview Hustler returned great odds on the New Zealand tote, paying $3.30 for a place, a great return for his loyal Kiwi owners who include the Waikato’s Four Legs syndicate, whose main man Carl Officer was celebrating his birthday.
Pete McMullen blasts Northview Hustler out of the gate to claim an early lead. PHOTO: Dan Costello.
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Ray’s comments
Thursday night at Cambridge
Race 1: Rivergirl Bella
5.40pm
“She’s going as good as she can. She’s got a bit of speed but isn’t that strong. But she should get a nice trip here and be right in the frame. She’ll win one soon.”
Race 1: Jessie Lincoln
5.40pm
“She’s a big filly who has taken time to mature but she has plenty of ability. She’s a good pacer and I expect her to improve on her resuming run and go well.”
Race 1: Lincoln Dealer
5.40pm
“He’s a bit of a handful, too keen for his own good sometimes, so I’ll be happy to see him just get round and do most things right. He’s no superstar but he’s coming to it slowly but surely. We’re throwing him in the deep end here and he has a terrible draw but we have to start somewhere.”
Race 4: Lincoln Maree
7.04pm
“She’s as tough as old boots and tries like hell and you can’t ask for much more than that. She just lacks a bit of speed but has a good attitude. She usually finds one or two better than her but will make them work for it anyway.”
Ray’s comments
Friday night at Auckland
Race 1: Prince Lincoln
4.56pm
“He’ll be improved for the last run, has trialled and is working well, and has a better draw (the ace) this time. You just have to be a bit wary because he’s let us down a couple of times.”
Race 3: Angelic Copy
5.56pm
“She had a tie-up issue but seems much better now. It’s her first run for a while so she’ll definitely need the run. I’m just hoping she gets around all right and pulls up OK.”
Race 3: Colonel Lincoln
5.56pm
“He’s a very capable horse, if injury prone, and he’s been back in work for three or four months. You never say never but, realistically, he’s just starting off so you can’t expect him to be at his peak.”
Race 5: Sammy Lincoln
6.55pm
“I know I said it two starts back but if there’s such a thing as a certainty, he’s it. Even from seven on the gate, everything says he’s the one to beat. If he hadn’t gone a bit goofy up the home straight last time in the Sires’ Stakes Semi at Cambridge, he’d have easily run third. This is a huge drop in class.”
Race 7: Sugar Ray Lincoln
7.58pm
“I expect he’ll be a bit sharper this time. He’s looking well and feeling good but I still think another run under his belt will be beneficial for him. He’s not one to leap out of the ground but he is capable of taking the race.”
