Tommy has the Will but second row draw on Saturday night makes it tougher
By Barry Lichter • 16 September 2021
Tommy Lincoln mighty have drawn badly but trainer Mark Dux is confident he will run boldly again on Saturday night after placing in one of the fastest miles ever run at Albion Park last week.
Dux expertly predicted Tommy Lincoln would get the run of the race in the one-one last Saturday and when top junior Angus Garrard produced Tommy Lincoln he made ground strongly to be the best of Will The Wizard’s rivals in a sizzling 1:50.6 mile rate.
The time for the 1660 metres was just two tenths of a second outside the track record jointly held by champion pacer Themightyquinn (2014) and Cruz (2020) and further underlined Dux’s belief that Tommy would now continue to hold his own in the free-for-all grade.
While beaten 12.5 metres by Will The Wizard, who reeled off successive quarters in 27.2, 28.3, 26.9 and 28.2, Tommy Lincoln did well considering he had to come wide to make his run.
“It would have been nice to have been on the fence rather than coming around them but he raced terrific.
“I keep scratching my head about why people are thinking twice about buying him. What more can he do? If you wanted to buy one, there’s nothing wrong with him.”
Dux knows Tommy’s task will be harder this week as the sole horse on the second row.
“But there’s a bit of speed in the race and they’ll go solid again. Getting through the traffic will be the problem - he’s got to get round the slow ones - and when they’re running such fast times you can’t afford to be going backwards.”
The key to the race, says Dux, is what kind of a run Will The Wizard gets from the outside of the gate.
“If he goes straight to the top we can’t beat him. We’ll be a lot further back this week and you can’t take off a long way from home.
“But Franco Hampton has a lot of speed and they may park Will The Wizard. If they do, he’s no good thing.”
Tommy Lincoln races at 10.10pm NZ time at Albion Park on Saturday night.
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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.”
