Ray looking forward to seeing new look Lincoln Wave and debutant Timmy Lincoln

There are two very good reasons why senior trainer Ray Green is expecting Lincoln Wave to be on his best behaviour and hard to beat when he resumes at Auckland on Friday night.

It will be the speedy pacer’s first start for two months and his first since being gelded.

Green likes keeping his colts at Lincoln Farms intact but the Downbytheseaside three-year-old left him with little choice after his last start on September 4 when he disappointed in running fifth behind Jeremiah.

Green said while Lincoln Wave had won five of his 15 starts, he and training partner Nathan Delany suspected he wasn’t giving his all, and his attention was straying.

As Green puts it, the horse “started reviewing his contract” and while he wasn’t dangerous, “he was heading that way” risking injury to himself and others by doing things like kicking walls.

“I like keeping them intact even if they are a nuisance - colts are much stronger than geldings, especially young ones.”

Lincoln Wave scoring his fifth win in June. PHOTO: Ange Bridson/Race Images.And Green says the success of entires in the New Zealand Trotting Cup, for example, with triple and dual winners like Terror To Love, Copy That, Lazarus, Flashing Red and Il Vicolo, was evidence of their superior strength even as older horses. While well outnumbered, entires have won 25 of the last 50 cups and, with two of the favourites next week Leap To Fame and last year’s winner Kingman still entires, that record was likely to improve further.

But Green acknowledges some colts become thinkers and get too smart for their own good, requiring action.

“Wave is like a lamb now, so we’ll see how he goes as a gelding. He’ll either go better or worse.”

While Green backed off Lincoln Wave after he was gelded, he says the horse has been training well in recent weeks and performed well in his only workout, at Pukekohe on October 20.

After trailing third, Lincoln Wave powered home to be only a nose behind Miss Cherokee, home in 56.9 and 27.5.

“You’ve got to run those times at the trials when racing at this level and he did it well and pulled up well.

“He’s in good shape and I think he’ll go quite well. He may need a race but he’s still classy enough to get the job done if he gets the right trip from four.”

Bookies opened Lincoln Wave at $6.50 with his better drawn rivals Incentivise at $1.70 and Mama’s Wish at $4.60.

Tony Cameron, who recently passed the 200 winners milestone, teams with Lincoln Wave and Timmy Lincoln.New pilot

With Lincoln Wave’s regular pilot Maurice McKendry at Addington to drive the smart trotter Tactico in the Two-Year-Old Sires’ Stakes Prelude, Green has engaged Tony Cameron.

“I’m more than happy to have Tony driving. Every drive he’s had for us he’s given them a good trip.

“He’s under-rated, an unassuming character not one to blow his own trumpet, and he flies under the radar.”

Cameron will also handle two-year-old debutant Timmy Lincoln ($3, $1.30) in the fifth race.

“He’s a beautiful, big American Ideal colt who showed quite a lot early on but he was a little immature and stated to sore up here and there so we’ve given him time to toughen up.”

But after four trials and two workouts - including a very close second on August 11 to talented stablemate Omaha Lincoln after leading - Green says the colt is now ready.

Timmy Lincoln hasn’t trialled since then, Green bemoaning the calling off of several workouts, but says he has to start somewhere.

“It’s his first time off the place and first time at Alex Park, so it will all be new to him but he feels like he’s got a little bit of speed and hopefully he’ll do things right. He’s been good at home but you don’t really know how they’ll behave in a full field of horses, it’s a different ball game to racing two or three horses at the trials.

“All the family have been a little on the hot side and he shows those tendencies too.”

But Green likes the fact that Tommy Lincoln’s dam Tania Tandias has left a string of winners, four of which Lincoln Farms has raced including his full brother Tommy Lincoln (16 wins), Lincoln Road (14 wins) and Lincoln’s Girl (30 wins, including 23 in the States).

Working a treat

Green is also keen to see what Copy Ten Four ($8, $2) can do in the last race, saying that had it been left-handed he’d be labelling him on his recent excellent work.

“He’s a strong horse and his training has been much improved since his last race which seems to have woken him up.

“He’s been training with a better class of horse and been competitive so I think he’s starting to come to it.

“Right-handed is still an issue for him though - he doesn’t get the corners as well - but other than that, he’s a serious chance.”

Well graded

Green says he’s also looking forward to watching Sugar Ray Lincoln ($7.50, $2.05) in the third race, a heat of the Australasian Young Drivers’ Championship where he gets young gun Carter Dalgety.

“I’m very happy to have Carter on board, he’s an experienced driver now, and it’s a winnable race for him.

“He’s dropping down in grade again and, subject to no dramas from his awkward inside draw, you have to consider him a serious chance.”

Sugar Ray Lincoln produced his best effort for some time when third last time at Auckland after trailing, only one and a quarter lengths and a nose behind Incentivise and Muchacho in a R45 to R58 event. On Friday he drops significantly in class to a R35 to R45 race.