Ray’s ready to deal but Ace Commander’s not quite ready to trump ‘em yet
By Barry Lichter • 19 November 2019
Ace Commander gave his best hint yet that he can make the grade in the north with a bold win at the Pukekohe workouts at the weekend.
But while trainer Ray Green expects the trotter to run well when he resumes at Auckland on Friday night, he’s not expecting him to win.
Ace Commander hasn’t raced since June when, after two runs for Green, it was discovered he had an entrapped epiglottis.
Routine surgery corrected the breathing problem after which Ace Commander was given a decent break. And Green has given the six-year-old a slow buildup, contesting five workouts in October and November.
Last Saturday he ran his best yet when downing two talented trotters in Havehorsewilltravel and Forget The Price Tag, both of whom oppose him on Friday night.
Ace Commander has shown a good turn of foot in his workouts.Showing good speed away from the stand again, Ace Commander pressed forward to wrest the lead after 400 metres.
Zachary Butcher kept the horse pinging along in front and after the challenging Delson broke on the home turn he scored easily by one and a quarter lengths from Havehorsewilltravel with a head to Forget The Price Tag who both made up good ground late.
Ace Commander ran the 2500 metres in 3:20.1, a mile rate of 2:08.7, with closing sectionals of 61.1 and 29.3.
And best of all, his heart rate was lower than in recent workouts, a sign that he had continued steady improvement.
“His heart rate wasn’t bad after I drove him on Tuesday either, “ said Green. “He’s improving all the time. Those were two really nice horses who couldn’t round him up on Saturday.
“He’s capable of going a good race but I think he’ll need a run or two.”
Ace Commander, bought by leading Australian owner Merv Butterworth, came from the South Island with a record of five wins from 23 starts and he gets into Friday’s race as the second highest rated trotter behind Forget The Price Tag, but consequently starts from a 20 metre handicap.
Ace Commander, by Monarchy, has shown he has a good turn of foot and Green says he fits nicely into the grade he finds himself in on Friday.
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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.”
