Punters quick to join Fergie in consummating his affair with Lincoln Lover at Auckland

Forget the form line, Lincoln Lover is going well enough to beat his older rivals at Auckland on Friday night.

It didn’t take too long for punters to snap up the $5.50 odds on the Bettor’s Delight colt, weight of the early money caving his odds to $4.40 in a non-winners’ race that looks leagues below the quality he met in last week’s Sires’ Stakes heat.

Not for the first time in three runs this prep, driver Peter Ferguson found himself in a non-winnable position, out the back from a wide draw and still there 400 metres from home.

But the little colt still finished on well for 10th, his closing sectionals of 57.7 and 28.2 bettered only by winner Cyclone Rebel and War Chief.

The effort did nothing to dim the love affair Fergie has with Lincoln Lover, who in his previous two starts was starved for room up the straight when a close sixth behind Special Occasion, and sat parked for the last lap before finishing only two lengths behind Andretti, Prince Lincoln and Alecto.

“His last start was a complete non-event, it was only a sprint up the straight,” Green said. “With any kind of a trip on Friday he’ll show them more of what he can do.

“Lincoln Linda has more speed than him but he’s got the manners and he tries like hell.”

Lincoln Linda ($5.50) is surprisingly tight in the market given her antics in last week’s Sires Stakes hear for fillies when she was virtually unrestrainable four wide, then three wide with no cover for the remainder of the race.

“It was all self inflicted,” Green said. “She gets herself so wound up.

“The weird thing is that in front she’s lovely, and drops the bit, but getting there is the hardest part. We’ve had problems with her missing the start when she’s a bit awkward.

“If she did things right, and could lead from one, I can’t see how they’d beat her, but that’s a big question mark.

“She trained well on Tuesday so she’s in good shape.”

Generous odds

Another who has pleased Green in training this week is Debbie Lincoln ($19, $3.50) who is at generous odds in the Nevele R Fillies’ heat.

“She tied up on us again after her last start but her bloods are good again so it looks like she’s over that. At her best she’d be a serious chance.

“She could be in need of a race or two to be on the very top of her game but, if she gets a good trip, I could see her being right in it.”

Tyson ($5, $1.70) is always right in it and Green rates him a strong each-way chance in the fourth race.

“He’s looking great and he’s a real slugger. Some people under-rate him but he keeps getting the money.”

Green believes hot favourite Confederate ($2) will need everything to go his way again, after winning from the trail last week.

Tyson, on the other hand, loves nothing better than to tough it out, the parked out spot fast becoming his favourite.