Dreams Of Eric and Harrison Orange are well clear at Cambridge on Thursday night. PHOTO: Ange Bridson/Race Images.
The dream’s alive but Nate tells why he’ll wait for ‘Harry’ before racing Eric again
By Barry Lichter • 11 July 2025
Trainer and part-owner Nathan Delany will wait for gun junior driver Harrison Orange to return to New Zealand before lining up improving colt Dreams Of Eric again.
Orange, 18, has driven Dreams Of Eric in each of his last six starts and Thursday night’s win brought their record together to two wins and two placings.
Delany is so enamoured with the newcomer’s ability in the cart that he will let Dreams Of Eric miss racing next week when Orange will be away in Brisbane, competing in the Australasian young drivers’ championship.
Orange is one of four New Zealand representatives, along with Sam Thornley, Carter Dalgety and Wilson House, in the four night-series which starts on Tuesday.
Delany, who trains the horse with Ray Green at Lincoln Farms is a junior driver himself but says “Harry” is so talented he has an extremely bright future ahead of him.
The fastest driver to reach 50 wins in New Zealand, Orange’s tally is now 53, of which 45 have come this year.
Delany praised the way Orange rated the Vincent colt on Thursday despite being attacked hard by Benson Dude and continually niggled at throughout the running.
He admitted he was surprised at how well the horse kicked on the home turn, putting up a break that the favourite Ohoka Achilles found beyond him.
Nathan Delany … leased Dreams Of Eric and races him with his mate Cody Evans.In winning by one and a quarter lengths, Dreams Of Eric posted the respectable time of 2:41.7, a mile rate of 1:58.3.
“I thought he’d run top three but I didn’t expect him to go that well,” Delany said.
“I thought Ohoka Achilles would be too good for him so I didn’t even back him.”
Sixth favourite in the field of seven, Dreams of Eric paid $13.80 on the tote and was as long as $18 on fixed odds before the race.
But Delany had warned to expect a better performance than the horse’s last-start eighth at Auckland six days earlier.
“The change of direction helped him out a lot. He just isn’t comfortable going right-handed and gets a knee.
“He’s also improved a lot. He ran all his quarters on Thursday night in under 30.”
Delany said it was a “team effort” at Lincoln Farms that had helped the insignificant-looking colt to perform so well.
“Everyone at the barn helps out but he’s a very easy horse to train. He’s very quiet and sometimes you wouldn’t even know he’s a colt.”
Delany said the three-year-old was starting to live up to his name for his ownership mate Cody Evans.
“He has big footsteps to follow as his half sister Jo’s Dream won a Group I race.”
Delany leased the horse from breeders Jo and Graham Goodin after he failed to reach his $15,000 reserve as a yearling, buyers passing over the small, ordinary-looking colt.
His record now reads nine starts for two wins, four placings and $12,985 in stakes.
The win took Delany’s personal training tally to three and his total for Lincoln Farms to 24 since he joined in a training partnership at the start of the year.
More news in Harness
Prince Lincoln spearheads record-sized team for Lincoln Farms at Cambridge on Friday
Ray cautions punters with no lead this time for Jekyll and Hyde colt Prince Lincoln
Two (not so) secret weapons help Lincoln Farms to $29,287 payday at Cambridge
Deb dresses her latest ‘Copy’ weanling in white and he delivers a Major coup
Our runners this week: How our trainer rates them
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.”
