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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Les Harding
Monday at Globe Derby
Race 6: Beaudiene Rocknroll
6.34pm NZ time
This race will tell us how he measures up against the local horses. We decided to go for this lower graded race, despite having lower prize money, instead of going to the trials one more time. He won the second of two trials on April 21, beating race rival Hezrockinroyalty by four metres. Run over 2230 metres he clocked 57.7 for his last half and 1:59.7 for his last mile. From the pole he’ll start short and be hard to beat.
Ray’s comments
Friday night at Auckland
Race 7: Lincoln Lou
8.25pm
“He’s a beautiful little horse who doesn’t do anything wrong. He got held up at a crucial time last week and got home well (for sixth). He gets out pretty well so should get a good trip from two. He’ll go his usual honest race. He’s improving all the time, he’s a gutsy little guy, but whether he can measure up to the favourites remains to be seen.”
Race 7: Sugar Ray Lincoln
8.25pm
“He’s a work in progress and we’re still dabbling with his gear. He’s actually a naturally good-gaited horse, like all the American Ideals, but he’s going through a stage of not really knowing why he’s out there. You just don’t know when he’ll click but three is an ideal draw for him and he should be handy if he does things right.”
Race 9: Leo Lincoln
9.20pm
“He’s an under-rated horse, as good as those others who are higher rated. He’s proving to be a tidy horse and, while he’s not viewed as a serious player by some, I think he is. He was closing off really well last week behind Hugotastic.”
