Smart triallist Lincoln River drawn to pay a divvy at Auckland on Thursday night
By Barry Lichter • 2 May 2023
Courtesy of his good draw, capable three-year-old Lincoln River look the best of Lincoln Farms’ three runners in the fifth race at Auckland on Thursday night.
Lincoln River hasn’t raced for six weeks since running down the track in Merlin’s Northern Derby, and he’s also had to shake off a foot abscess, but trainer Ray Green is expecting him to go well.
“The abscess held him up for a week after the derby but it has resolved itself and he trialled well at the weekend.”
Part-owners David Turner, left, and Phil Kelly greet Lincoln River after his win at Cambridge in March. PHOTO: Chanelle Lawson.In a four-horse workout over 2050 metres, Lincoln River did well to dead-heat for first with Fortify, a filly with Mark and Nathan Purdon who has won two of her three starts and lines up in Thursday’s Sires’ Stakes heat.
“He should go well, he’s good enough to win,” says Green. “It just depends if his fitness level is good enough or if he needs one, but he should be right there.”
Green says there’s not much between Lincoln River and My Copy but he leans to Lincoln River because of his superior draw of two.
“Hopefully he’ll get a good trip from the second row - he follows out Lincoln River - but he normally takes a few runs to come to it.”
My Copy will be havng his third run in a new prep and looked close to form last week when making good ground up the lane behind Diamonds Are Forever, who ran a pedestrian 2:46.1.
“Blair (Orange) was quite pleased with him. He said he really dug in up the straight and tried hard. He’s on the improve and won’t be far away.”
Neptune, the stable’s third rep in the race, will need to improve to be a threat from a wide barrier of seven.
“He’ll have to go back from there,” says Green. “He’s been launched a few times and it hasn’t suited him. His best runs have been from off the pace.”
Bettor Cheer … needs the pace on - he’s no sit-sprinter. PHOTO: Trish Dunell.The stable’s only other candidate on a relatively quiet night, Bettor Cheer, also has a nasty gate to overcome, drawn eight in the second race.
“We know anything can happen with draws but the outside of the gate makes it harder. He’ll have to go back and come into it later on.”
Bettor Cheer enjoyed a perfect trip last week, leading, then trailing, before only battling on for fifth behind Venturesome Arden.
“But Zac (Butcher) was a bit dirty on himself for not pressing on when John Dunn came looking for the lead on the eventual winner.
“He’s not a sit-and-sprint horse, he lacks high speed, but seems to keep going. Zac said if he’d rolled them along a bit he would have finished much closer.”
Green says last week’s dawdle-and-sprint home was a little out of character for races at Auckland and he was not expecting a repeat on Thursday.
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Ray’s comments
Friday night at Cambridge
Race 1: Spirited Belle
4.46pm
Delany: “I saw she’d been punted but somebody must know something we don’t as I’ve been working her myself and, while she feels all right and hasn’t put the boot in like at Auckland, I think she’ll need the run. She hasn’t got any high speed but feels like she will stay. She has improved a bit but I’d be surprised if she won.”
Race 1: Lincoln Maree
4.46pm
“It’s always hard from these draws but she’s a tough mare who will make her own luck at some stage. She’s going well enough - her drivers have all been happy - and she’s a little warrior who tries like hell.”
Race 2: Major Copy
5.12pm
“He’s only two and very inexperienced but he feels like a good colt and there’s a lot of improvement in him. He certainly caught a lot of people’s attention last time. I don’t know how good he is yet but he’ll be right there.”
Race 2: Prince Lincoln
5.12pm
“If he can lead without having to do too much work I can’t see anything beating him. I thought he went great last start. He pressed the winner hard ’til the corner then just flattened out in the run home, but he had every reason to do that after all the work he’d done.”
Race 4: Spirit Of God
6.12pm
“She’s been undone by bad draws. If she led easily from three she’d be hard to beat as she’s a good front-runner.”
Race 4: Spirited Peggy
6.12pm
“We’ve had her for only two weeks but she’s seven now and has had her chance to win one. She has a bit of speed but I think she gets pulling so we’ve got the Hidez (compression) hood on her and plugged her ears up.”
Race 6: Copy N Paste
7.10pm
“We won’t see the best of him for another six months. He’s been a slow developing horse but is improving all the time and getting stronger.”
Race 6: Jessie Lincoln
7.10pm
“If I was having a bet on one of them in the race it would be her. She deserves to win one. Her last two have been really good - she just ran into one who was a bit slicker last time in Major Copy.”
Race 6: Lincoln Dealer
7.10pm
“He’s a bit one-dimensional - you’ve got to feed him track and let him run - so the second row draw is a big handicap. To his credit I was surprised he finished so close last time after all the work he did. When he gets a decent draw and crosses them they’ll know they’re at the races. He’s got a big motor and tries hard.”
Race 8: Rivergirl Bella
8.08pm
“She clawed her way to the front last time but had nothing left at the finish. That won’t happen this time and she should lead easily from one.”
Race 8: Angelic Copy
8.08pm
“She’s had terrible draws but has been going good races. The others last time were just better than her but this is a big drop in class. With the right trip she could get some of it at huge odds.”
Race 9: Sugar Ray Lincoln
8.35pm
“He’s not quick away from a stand but he won’t muff it completely. He steps from the front line and Peter Ferguson was quite happy with his last run.”
Race 9: Lincoln Wave
8.35pm
“He bombed the stand the first time but to be fair all those horses were rushing up at him from the back and that panicked him a bit. He’s on 10 metres this time so that won’t happen.”
