Zachary Butcher salutes after winning on Bet On The Tiger at Cambridge three starts ago. PHOTO: Chanelle Lawson.
You can Bet On The Tiger with a lot more confidence this time at Cambridge
By Barry Lichter • 22 March 2022
Bet On The Tiger will never be good enough to claim a slot in ‘The Race’ but he’s capable enough of winning The Race 14th April Mobile Pace at Cambridge on Thursday night.
Punters should ignore the drop off in form of Lincoln Farms’ colt in the fourth race, says trainer Ray Green, now that Bet On The Tiger has shrugged off a virus that has dogged the team.
Two starts back at Cambridge it wasn’t just his outside second row draw and parked trip that saw him drop out to 10th.
The horse was found to have snot in his lungs after the race and had to go out for a brief spell.
“A lot of the horses here had been sick and he definitely had the virus,” Green said.
And last time, on March 10, while Bet On The Tiger led from the outset, Green’s fears that he would be short on race fitness proved correct when he ran out of puff 75 metres from home and finished fourth.
“If he hadn’t drawn so well that night I wouldn’t have lined him up. He hadn’t raced for six weeks so he definitely needed it. He’s no champion but we know he’s better than that.”
In his previous four starts at Cambridge Bet On The Tiger had racked up a formline of -3221.
On Thursday, the three-year-old leaves from seven on the gate, not ideal over the 1700 metre dash, but only Ideal Tomado in five has the gate speed to worry him.
The field is ordinary to say the least, ranging between rating 38 and rating 48, and Bet On The Tiger has also had the benefit of a workout at Pukekohe last Saturday.
In it, he faced much better horses over 2050 metres, leading, trailing and battling on for a close fifth behind Fernleigh Cash (R50), Romeo Shard (R57), The Notorious R B G (R49) and John Wayne (R51).
“He’ll probably need another one before we see the best of him, but he should go much better this time,” Green said.
Zachary Butcher takes the reins.
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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.”
