The team celebrate their win in the Congratulations John and Lynne Street for 1000 wins Pace. PHOTO: Megan Liefting.
Street’s favourite little fighter Lincoln River keeps the champagne corks popping
By Barry Lichter • 15 July 2023
A bout of bronchitis couldn’t keep Lincoln Farms’ owner John Street away from the trots on Friday night when one of his favourite horses Lincoln River helped celebrate his 1000-win milestone for a second time.
Just a couple of weeks ago the showy little black brought up John and Lynne Street’s 1000th win in the harness and gallops codes and on Friday night he won the race named in honour of that unprecedented feat.
“I was coughing and shouldn’t really have gone to the races last night but I love the horse,” Street said. “He’s not very big but he’s a very well proportioned little fella and he has a good heart.”
Street has another reason for loving the well bred horse whom he generously put up for auction last August to raise money for charity.
When he saw the auction for the Foodstuffs Foundation was stuttering he quickly jumped up on stage and offered 50% of Lincoln River who was one of the best bred pacers in his stable, being by the champion sire Bettor’s Delight out of a New Zealand Oaks winner in Ideal Belle.
“It was a spur-of-the-moment decision,” Street said. “But there were a lof of wealthy people in the room and it was a sensational result geting $100,000 out of them.”
The winning bid was made by a team of PAK’nSAVE owner-operators, including Glenn “Grocer” Cotterill, who bought the Lincoln Rd branch in Henderson from Street in 2013.
Lincoln River is too tough for 10-win pacer Brookies Jaffa and Louezyana. PHOTO: Megan Liefting/Race Images.Cotterill, who already races horses in special partnerships with Lincoln Farms, took a 25% share for $50,000 with the other 25% spread between 10 others.
Street warned the bidders at the time that Lincoln River was still six months away from maturing but in 20 starts since the auction, he has racked up four wins, five seconds and four thirds, earning $46,645 in stakes.
“For many of them it’s their first horse and they’re getting a lot of thrills out of it. He was well backed last night, and I suspect most of it was their money as they’re pretty well off.
“I wouldn’t mind getting them into some more horses.”
The Streets and the Yellow Barn Syndicate, who now race Lincoln River with David Turner, Phil Kelly, David Hooker, Barbara O’Mara, Dave Jones and Lin and Tina Guo can look forward to a bright future with the horse who was well driven on Friday night by Andre Poutama to beat 10-win pacer Brookies Jaffa.
“He’s only going to get better and stronger,” Street said. “He’s not fully matured yet but I just worry what will happen when he wins another race. He’ll be like Simply Sam. We couldn’t get a race for him on Friday night and he’s only a rating 64.
“We won’t sell him but we might have to send him to Australia which is where Simply Sam might have to go.”
Street said he had real fears for the future of harness racing in Auckland, the paucity of horses remaining helped only through the huge investment in recent years by Stonewall Stud’s Steve Stockman.
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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.”
