The red spots show areas of Queensland which have had more than 100ml of rain in the last 24 hours.
Queensland’s big wet leaves Man Of Action well short on fitness for Albion Park today
By Barry Lichter • 22 March 2021
A week of wet weather has left Man Of Action well short on fitness for today’s meeting at Albion Park which trainer Al Barnes says may not even go ahead.
Persistent rain in south and east Queensland has left many parts of the state under water and Barnes says his track at Marburg has been a bog for a week and a half.
“It’s pouring down. We’ve probably had 200ml. We had 100ml before yesterday when the rain set in and it’s been constant since.
“Man Of Action has jogged every day but he’s had a week without fast work. A lot of people will be in the same boat.
“That’s why he’s in on a Monday (poorer fields) because of his lack of fitness. We’ll use it as a fitness run and do the best we can.”
Barnes says had Man Of Action been fit and healthy today’s seventh race, with its lack of form, would have been perfect for him.
But the horse’s health has also not been the best lately, the reason he has run last in both outings since resuming from a spell, the latest on March 12 after trailing throughout.
“Before the rain we had a month of real hot and humid weather and he just didn’t handle it. His coat went right off and he was nearly dehydrated.
“For the last two weeks I’ve been working hard to turn his health around. This cooler weather will help.”
Man Of Action has drawn wide in six on the front line.
Man Of Action races at 5.49pm NZ time at Albion Park on Monday.
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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.”
