Ray Green, in the hospital day room with Lincoln Farms’ foreman Andrew Drake, admiring IRT’s gift of Copy That’s cup double.
Thanks IRT! Ray back on his hind legs and smiling thanks to cup sponsor’s gift
By Barry Lichter • 28 November 2022
The Ray Green smile was back today - thanks to some timely generosity from IRT managing director Richard Cole.
Green, in Middlemore Hospital recovering from major stomach surgery after being kicked, delighted in being given a large, framed montage of Copy That’s back-to-back wins in the IRT New Zealand Trotting Cup.
The display, by Race Images’ Ajay Berry, captured brilliantly the memory of some glory days which Green is holding on to as he begins his long road to recovery.
Green was up and about in the ward day room today, discussing the preparation of his team at Lincoln Farms with foreman Andrew Drake.
“I’m lucky the stable is in very good hands,” Green said. “Andrew is liaising really well with me and they know what to do. We’ll get through this.”
It’s a far cry from the initial prognosis when the surgeon who operated on Green for seven hours last Monday told his wife Debbie “he’s not out of the woods yet. Don’t get your hopes up too high.”
“It was a bit of a worry for two or three days. I definitely thought I was dead. It was horrendous.”
IRT’s Richard Cole and his uncle David join Merv and Meg Butterworth on the victory dais at Addington. PHOTO: Ajay Berry/Race ImagesApart from the pain, Green said he couldn’t eat or drink or sleep.
“It was tough. I didn’t sleep for three days, tossing and turning and vomiting. But the last three days I’ve been getting better and better. And last night I had a really good night’s sleep.”
Nibbling on a hard boiled egg and some beetroot, Green told how apart from half an avocado he’d eaten very little the previous week.
With postoperative ileus, where the body basically shuts down and rejects food or water, Green said he had to wait for his bowel and gut to start functioning again.
He’s back in semi-working order again now but will have to wear a stoma bag for the next few months - surgeons created a hole in his abdomen through which a tube now funnels away his body wastes.
Stoma bag named Rose
Green, who has nicknamed the bag “Rose”, after his treasured No. 1 hospital nurse, said he’d been kicked plenty of times in the past but nothing approaching the severity of what happened last week.
“I couldn’t believe how hard that filly kicked me or why it would want to. It was unreal. It just barrelled me and I went flying through the air. Luckily I had my helmet on.”
Green said after initially protesting he’d be fine with 30 minutes rest, he knew after five minutes he was in trouble and needed to go to hospital.
“You can get a bit macho sometimes in this business. You think you can be a tough guy, take the kicks and bounce back.
“When I woke up after the operation all the texts were coming in saying ‘you’re tough, you’ll bounce back’ but I don’t think they understood just how bad it was.”
Green still hopes to recover faster than his doctors anticipate - he’s expecting to be discharged in the next few days and hopes to visit the stables by Friday.
He’s hoping to get back to the races next week when Copy That will be entered for a mobile mile, the cup winner’s last chance to get fit for the $50,000 Thames Summer Cup (2200m) the following week.
Whether or not Copy That gets a start remains to be seen. Last week he and Hot And Treacherous were scrubbed out by Harness Racing New Zealand because they were deemed to be too good for their opposition.
The Summer Cup and the $50,000 Lincoln Farms Franklin Cup (2700m) on December 31, are both standing starts with a maximum back mark of 30 metres.
More news in Harness
This is it, Sammy, the draw’s a bit of a pain but you can eat these non-winners for breakfast
Prince Lincoln finally shows what he’s made of - and, wow, was that a blazing demolition!
Hey Wendy and Amy, go easy of Fergs as he’s doing a sterling job taming Lincoln Linda
Third time lucky for Wave’s little bro Omaha Lincoln who finally debuts at Auckland
Our runners this week: How our trainers rate them
Ray’s comments
Thursday night at Cambridge
Race 1: Rivergirl Bella
5.14pm
“She tries hard and is getting stronger. She just needs a trip to be right there.”
Race 3: Copy N Paste
6.16pm
“Maurice said he got a bit tired on debut but I didn’t expect a lot. Four months ago you’d have wondered if he’d ever qualify. He’ll improve on that - he’s improving all the time - but from seven he’ll have to go back and come into it late.”
Race 5: Lincoln Linda
7.14pm
Update: Scratched
“She’s up in grade but is a chance again if she can get a good run up the front of the field. It was a good effort last time to break 2:43.”
Race 8: Lincoln Maree
8.49pm
“She’s trained on OK and, while no champion, has to be a chance down in grade against the amateur horses.”
Ray’s comments
Friday night at Auckland
Race 4: Jessie Lincoln
6.57pm
“I can’t see her beating Sammy Lincoln but with a good draw at last you’ll see a better performance. She’s capable of finishing in the first three.”
Race 4: Spirit Of God
6.57pm
“She bolted in at the workouts, leading out from a wide gate and getting home in 27.9. She’s a great driving little mare and has good manners. I could see her winning one very soon.”
Race 4: Sammy Lincoln
6.57pm
“I know we’ve said it before but he has been unlucky a few times and, all things being fair and square, it’s hard to see him beaten. The draw is awkward but everything points to him winning. There are no derby horses in there and he went a great race in the Northern Derby last start.”
Race 4: Marylynes Boy
6.57pm
“He’s a tidy little horse. I can’t see him winning from the (second row) draw but he’s like Spirit Of God, he’s not far away from winning one.”
Race 5: Sugar Ray Lincoln
7.25pm
“He’s been a late developer. You can see it in his growth, his withers have finally popped up, and he’ll get better as time goes on. He’s no champion but he should be a handy horse through winter. He’s capable of stepping away fairly well.”
Race 5: Leo Lincoln
7.25pm
“It’s a toss-up between the two of them. Sugar Ray is a bit stronger perhaps but Leo is very good from a stand. You can forget that last run in the Messenger - he was only in there to help get the race off the ground.”
Race 7: Prince Lincoln
8.25pm
“He finally showed us what he’s got last week. Inside second row draws can be awkward - you’re at the mercy of the others - but he could end up with a good trail behind the leader.”
