Our brave Tommy leaves them standing and gives owners a sniff of an Interdominion tilt
By Barry Lichter • 21 January 2023
Tommy Lincoln’s owners might have had to wait 10 months to see his all-the-way win at Albion Park tonight but trainer Mark Dux believes they have plenty more fun in store with the six-year-old.
And he hinted that if the six-year-old is still hale and hearty come the end of the year they might just get to experience the thrill of racing a horse in an Interdominion series.
“The Interdoms are in our back yard in December and if he’s still here and fit and well, we can throw in a nomination and see what happens.
“It’s not like we’d be putting him in just to make up numbers as we know he can run the time.
“Realistically he can’t beat a horse like Copy That but anything can happen in a race and, if he draws an alley, we know he can follow speed no matter how fast they run.
“He’s just below the very best because he needs everything to go his way but he’s more than competitive with the right trip.”
Tommy Lincoln is also very tough, a trait demanded of Interdominion runners who usually compete four times in two weeks.
Mathew Neilson looks across but has the favourite Manila Playboy well covered.“Even though he doesn’t win a lot, he comes out and runs fast times every week. He was only sixth and fourth in his last two races but they were a couple of his better runs considering the quality of horses he’s been racing and the runs he’s been getting.
“For a change he got a good draw tonight and he won it with no dramas, ran good time, and Mathew didn’t even pull the plugs.”
Dropping his opposition with a 27.3 third quarter, driver Mathew Neilson shot clear rounding the bend to record a mile rate of 1:52.8 for the 1660 metres.
“Mathew knew he had the danger (Manila Playboy) out the back and it had to run real fast sectionals to catch him.
“It was funny tonight, he said as soon as he led, the horse relaxed and dropped the bit. He didn’t know if that was good or bad but, as soon as he got down the back, he knew he had plenty of horse.”
Though Manila Playboy made up many lengths from last at the 400, Tommy Lincoln’s 55.8 dash home was too much for the favourite who couldn’t get any closer than 4.6 metres at the line.
Tommy’s winning purse of A$8832 took his Australian earnings to A$94,390 which, added to his New Zealand bankroll of $85,558 took him to within a couple of thousand dollars of $200,000 in career earnings.
“It takes a nice horse to win 15 races and get to that level.”
More news in Harness
Lincoln Wave scorches in, still on target for richer races and Sammy’s making progress too
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
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.”
