Krug rears high for Blair Orange before his workout at Auckland. He looks the one to beat in the opening Young Guns heat on Friday.
Ray down to only two guns but both Platinum Stride and Captain Nemo have bullets to fire
By Barry Lichter • 11 December 2019
A slight sniffle will keep Bondi Shake out of the first Young Guns’ heat at Auckland on Friday night but trainer Ray Green expects Platinum Stride and Captain Nemo to be right in the fight.
Green had been aiming for a three-pronged assault on the opening two-year-old contest but he treated Bondi Shake for a minor virus earlier in the week.
However, with Platinum Stride ($41) in gate two and Captain Nemo ($41) in five, Green suggests there’s even a chance his pair could lead and trail.
Platinum Stride has shown any amount of zip in his preparatory workouts and, with leading horseman Anthony Butt in the cart, will get his chance to set the tempo.
Captain Nemo also surprised driver Zachary Butcher with the amount of early gas he had in a special workout on the course last Tuesday, declaring he could have led by anything had he asked the horse to run.
“Obviously it’s different in a race - there could be three or four with designs on the lead - but both have the ability to lead,” says Green.
“I expect them both to be very competitive. The two-year-olds look a pretty even bunch this year, there’s no real standout yet.”
Lined up across the track near the finish of last week’s workout it’s, from the inside, Platinum Stride, Bondi Shake, Captain Nemo and Vincent Van Gone.While the Lincoln Farms trio bowed to southerner Vincent Van Gone in their latest workout at Auckland, Butt reported Platinum Stride was only just getting warmed up at the line.
The Captaintreacherous colt, who cost big spending Australian Emilio Rosati $82,500 at NZ Bloodstock’s Christchurch yearling sale, has been one of the most precocious of the Lincoln Farms babies from the start.
Captain Nemo, also by Captaintreacherous and a $110,000 buy for Lincoln Farms’ John Street, looked a little green last week, Butcher reporting his hopples needed tightening up and that he didn’t seem to know what to do after cruising to the lead in the run home.
Krug rushes home wide out for third in his workout at Auckland.Their main rivals trialled three days later and while the first two home were the All Stars’ pair of First Class and It’s All About Faith, the eye-catching run came from the Cran Dalgety and Nathan Purdon-trained Krug who thundered home for third.
Krug demolished the other pair at the cup trials at Addington last month and, even from gate seven on Friday night, is the one to beat.
Green will give new recruit Classie Reactor his chance in the opening race on Friday, where he lines up the highest equal rated runner for his first race in the north.
He gets the worst draw of eight in the rating 47 to 59 event, not an easy task over a mile at Alexandra Park.
The winner of two of his five starts, Classie Reactor will be having only his second run for owner Merv Butterworth after a spell of 16 months and Green says “whatever he does, he will improve on.”
Classie Reactor looked a likely type, however, when he powered home for a close third to star pacer Self Assured at the weekend workouts.
“He could have pulled up a bit better that day but he trained not bad yesterday,” says Green.
“He feels like he’s got a bit of speed but we’ll find out on Friday.”
More news in Harness
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After 40 years in the sulky, Fergie’s just loving his renaissance in the lincoln green silks
Big-spending Mike Tanev snares The Rascal and he’s off to Canada next week
Dreams Of Eric goes from black and blue to blue and white, now for Harness 5000
Our runners this week: How our trainer rates them
Ray’s comments
Friday night at Auckland
Race 4: Tyson
6.59pm
“He was tough again in winning last week. He’s trained on well, is in good shape, and should be right in it.”
Race 4: Sugar Ray Lincoln
6.59pm
“He’s finally getting his act together - he’s gone three good races in a row - and seemingly turned the corner. We’ve had a lot of (vet) work done on him, his feet in particular, and it’s paid off. There’s not much between him and Tyson.”
Race 5: Rivergirl Bella
7.23pm
“She’ll need everything to go her way from the draw. But she’s got a bit of speed. She’s getting there. She wasn’t very strong before and wasn’t tracking too well, but she’s driving right now.”
Race 5: Lincoln Linda
7.23pm
“She’s had a few issues, mostly mental ones, and is still a bit of a handful. It wasn’t very pretty last week but we’re slowly getting her under control. The outside draw might actually help her.”
Race 5: Angelic Copy
7.23pm
“She needs only a half decent trip to feature. She got held up a little bit in the straight at a crucial time last week and that was that.”
Race 6: Prince Lincoln
7.49pm
“He’s drawn the best of ours in three. He got cheated for a run last week. It’s hard to know where he’d have finished without that.”
Race 6: Lincoln Lover
7.49pm
“Ferg reckoned if he’d been able to hold up in the trail last week he would have won. He was very bullish about how he’d gone. The draw’s no help but he can do a bit of work. He’s an honest little guy who saves his best for when the money’s up on racenight.”
Race 6: Johnny Lincoln
7.49pm
“He got a bit keen last week but he should be a lot better this time. He’s still learning and he’s a slow learner. When he does things correctly he’s a pretty nice horse. Hopefully he can get a suck into it from the second row draw.”
