Double Or Nothing, arrowed, finishes close up in fourth after being badly held up in the running.
Unlucky Double Or Nothing gets a draw to be on the speed and hard to beat on Tuesday
By Barry Lichter • 27 January 2020
Double Or Nothing should finish top two at Albion Park on Tuesday but he’ll still need to race up to his best against a field of older and seasoned pacers.
Drawn two in a field of seven, trainer Al Barnes expects to see his son Hayden either lead or trail on Lincoln Farms’ consistent three-year-old.
And that would put him in a winning position and eliminate the bad luck which saw him finish only fourth last start.
Double Or Nothing was caught three wide on a blistering opening quarter of 26.9 on January 17 but eventually lobbed a beautiful one-one trial.
Double Or Nothing, arrowed, is full of running and looking to get out of a pocket.But when Hayden wanted to pull the trigger on Double Or Nothing he was hemmed up in traffic, held up all the way round the home bend and well into the home stretch before being able to angle into the clear.
Double Or Nothing finished on strongly to be only 4.5 metres from winner Flying Wingard, almost in line with the second and third horses.
“But he didn’t ping like we thought he would,” says Barnes. “That’s why Hayden stayed in because we thought he had a more brilliant turn of foot. We’re still learning about him but it seems that while he has good speed he needs time to wind up.
“Hayden might want to lead on Tuesday and I’d say he’ll be either there or in the trail and from there he should go close, and finish in the top two.
“But he’ll have to do a good job because it’s a reasonably strong race and there are plenty of seasoned, older horses against him and the one horse (Rocknroll Classic) goes nicely.”
Barnes says Double Or Nothing will find it a little harder than former stablemate Trojan Banner did on his arrival in Brisbane last year.
That’s because the new national ratings system had not yet begun and Trojan Banner was so lowly assessed despite his record he was able to win seven on end.
“He’s probably rated a bit higher than he should be but we’ll see if he can handle it. He should do.”
Double Or Nothing made an instant impression first-up in Brisbane when he looped the field and ran away to score in a 1:55.4 mile rate.
The winner’s time last start was 1.1 seconds slower and they only crawled home in 59.2 and 30.2.
Double Or Nothing races at 4.53pm NZ time at Albion Park on Tuesday.
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Ray’s comments
Thursday night at Cambridge
Race 1: Rivergirl Bella
5.40pm
“She’s going as good as she can. She’s got a bit of speed but isn’t that strong. But she should get a nice trip here and be right in the frame. She’ll win one soon.”
Race 1: Jessie Lincoln
5.40pm
“She’s a big filly who has taken time to mature but she has plenty of ability. She’s a good pacer and I expect her to improve on her resuming run and go well.”
Race 1: Lincoln Dealer
5.40pm
“He’s a bit of a handful, too keen for his own good sometimes, so I’ll be happy to see him just get round and do most things right. He’s no superstar but he’s coming to it slowly but surely. We’re throwing him in the deep end here and he has a terrible draw but we have to start somewhere.”
Race 4: Lincoln Maree
7.04pm
“She’s as tough as old boots and tries like hell and you can’t ask for much more than that. She just lacks a bit of speed but has a good attitude. She usually finds one or two better than her but will make them work for it anyway.”
Ray’s comments
Friday night at Auckland
Race 1: Prince Lincoln
4.56pm
“He’ll be improved for the last run, has trialled and is working well, and has a better draw (the ace) this time. You just have to be a bit wary because he’s let us down a couple of times.”
Race 3: Angelic Copy
5.56pm
“She had a tie-up issue but seems much better now. It’s her first run for a while so she’ll definitely need the run. I’m just hoping she gets around all right and pulls up OK.”
Race 3: Colonel Lincoln
5.56pm
“He’s a very capable horse, if injury prone, and he’s been back in work for three or four months. You never say never but, realistically, he’s just starting off so you can’t expect him to be at his peak.”
Race 5: Sammy Lincoln
6.55pm
“I know I said it two starts back but if there’s such a thing as a certainty, he’s it. Even from seven on the gate, everything says he’s the one to beat. If he hadn’t gone a bit goofy up the home straight last time in the Sires’ Stakes Semi at Cambridge, he’d have easily run third. This is a huge drop in class.”
Race 7: Sugar Ray Lincoln
7.58pm
“I expect he’ll be a bit sharper this time. He’s looking well and feeling good but I still think another run under his belt will be beneficial for him. He’s not one to leap out of the ground but he is capable of taking the race.”
