Prince Lincoln and Harrison Orange are well clear and flying on Friday night. PHOTO: Therese Davis/Race Images.
Prince Lincoln finally shows what he’s made of - and, wow, was that a blazing demolition!
By Barry Lichter • 9 May 2026
Punters might have been surprised by Prince Lincoln’s sizzling 1:53.6 mile rate in winning at Auckland on Friday night, but not co-trainer Ray Green.
Green, who trains the up-’til-now frustrating three-year-old with Nathan Delany, knew he was capable of much more than he was showing - in his previous 18 starts he’d saluted the judge only once.
“I’ve always said he was a nice horse and I knew that if the real Prince showed up he could do that. The full blinds have certainly inspired him as he’s now put two good ones together.”
Green acknowledged Prince Lincoln hadn’t been a favourite around Lincoln Farms’ Pukekohe stable - “No one likes the ones that don’t put in when you know what they can do.
“But he did his own thing on Friday night - they weren’t going to kick sand in his face. Harry (driver Harrison Orange) said he did it easily, he was just coasting.”
What Green said pre-race about Prince Lincoln who was at $10 on opening.After heading straight to the lead, Orange kept Prince Lincoln running, clear by several lengths throughout, and he even extended in the run home to score by six and a half lengths.
The Always B Miki gelding stopped the clock at 2:00.13, a white hot mile rate of 1:53.6, with closing sectionals of 55.4 and 27.2, exceptional going for an R40-rated horse winning only his second race.
To put that into perspective, he ran four and a half seconds faster than when second to Mick Konstantin at Auckland last month.
And his time was marginally faster than the 2:00.48 that his highly regarded stablemate Lincoln Wave paced when winning on March 27.
Even more impressive is a comparison to the 2:00.09 time that The Lazarus Effect ran when beating Sooner The Better and Merlin in the Lincoln Farms’ Founders Cup in March.
Auckland’s up-to-date records couldn’t be accessed today to determine whether it ranks as a three-year-old track record. It bettered the track and then New Zealand record of 2:00.3 set by American Brave in October, 2017 but it is not known yet whether that time has been lowered since.
HRNZ records show that only four years ago the New Zealand three-year-old colts and geldings’ record for 1700 metres was set by Republican Party on the much faster Ashburton track and at 1:59.9 was only two tenths of a second faster than Prince Lincoln’s time. It has since been bettered by Hadron Collider (1:59.5 at Cambridge) and Dreams Are Free (1.59.2 at Ashburton).
Green noted Prince Lincoln had first use of the Alex Park surface on Friday night, which was in beautiful order before the rain came, but says he’s now hopeful the horse can stay focussed and keep his new-found form intact.
Prince Lincoln certainly has the pedigree to improve his CV, being out of Cullens Princess, a half-sister to New Zealand Trotting Cup winner Thefixer (12 wins, $660,771). His grand-dam was the swift Great Northern Oaks winner Tosti Girl (7 wins).
Prince Lincoln is raced by Lincoln Farms’ owners John and Lynne Street, their business manager Ian Middleton and a big team of loyal stalwarts in Lance Myocevich, the Green Machine Racing Syndicate, the Excell Syndicate, Brad Baine, Alana Rabbitt, the estate of Margaret Rabbitt and the Athenry Syndicate.
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Ray reveals his theory on why rank outsider Sammy Lincoln can play a hand in the derby
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Ray’s comments
Thursday night at Cambridge
Race 4: Lincoln Linda
6.38pm
“I’m not sure where she’s at. It’s a big drop in class - there’s not much in there - but I don’t think she’ll morph into a star. She was hitting the sulky wheels last time and over-racing but that won’t happen again.”
Race 6: Lincoln Maree
7.36pm
“She paced roughly last time but we’ve done a bit of work on her since so she should be happier this time. It depends on the trip she gets (from four) but she’ll go an honest race. She’s no superstar, but she doesn’t miss many cheques.”
Race 8: Copy N Paste
8.45pm
“He’s dour and tradesman-like but he’s getting there. It’s his first time off the place, and the trip will improve him, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see him competitive in what is a very weak field. Sometimes you don’t know what the Bettors Delights have got until they front up at the races but he trialled well and beat a couple who are against him here.”
Ray’s comments
Friday night at Auckland
Race 1: Prince Lincoln
4.53pm
“He actually tried last time. He’s a nice horse but can change his mind quickly. Full blinds woke him up last time so we’ll see if he responds to them again this time.”
Race 3: Omaha Lincoln
5.46pm
“I think he’ll go a good race but it’s his first time at Alexandra Park so I don’t want to talk him up too much. He’s got enough ability to win a race like this, whether he’s ready to do it, we’ll find out. He can get a bit keen at times but I think he’s a chance if he does everything right.”
Race 5: Spiritual Bliss
6.54pm
“It was another great run last time after leading and she’s a good, tough mare who will go another good race. What trip she gets will determine where she finishes. From five, I’m picking she might go back this time but I’ll leave that up to the driver (Harrison Orange).”
Race 6: Sharpe Stride
7.24pm
“He’s a nice trotter, a big strong colt. He can get a bit hot but there’s nothing wrong with how he goes. He’s certainly not good enough to deal with these but he’s there for a run around.”
Race 9: Leo Lincoln
8.57pm
“He’s racing in career-best form and they were struggling for runners so I put him in. He gets a starting fee of $1750 so we won’t go home empty-handed. I’m really happy with him, he’s handling right-handed racing better these days. But he’s racing the bear cats so I’m not suggesting for a second he’ll give them a fright.”
Race 10: Colonel Lincoln
9.25pm
“I thought he went super last time. It was a vast improvement on the previous two starts and you’ve got to remember he was out for a long time. He’s coming to it now and improving all the time. I couldn’t label him but I’d be surprised if he’s not in the first three or four. He’s trained on well and gets a front row draw.”
Race 10: Sugar Ray Lincoln
9.25pm
“He was given too much to do last time - up to park at the bell - and you can’t drive the ears off them every time. With a more conservative trip he’d be right in it.”
