Tartan Robyn scores a decisive win at Alexandra Park on Friday night. PHOTO: Megan Liefting.
Blackout at the Park after Tartan Robyn torches rivals in final New Zealand start
By Barry Lichter • 16 April 2021
Winning a $17,500 race with Tartan Robyn at Auckland certainly warranted celebration but trainer Ray Green would have preferred it didn’t take the form of a complete blackout at Alexandra Park.
The drinks had hardly been poured in the winners’ room after Tartan Robyn’s decisive win in his last start in New Zealand than the complex was plunged into darkness.
And with a power outage throughout the entire suburb of Greenlane, and no quick resolution in sight, it didn’t take long for club officials to abandon the last two races.
“It’s a shame because I thought we could win the last race with Louie The Punter,” said Green ungearing the horse in dim emergency lighting.
“But it’s the perfect scenario for Tartan Robyn to win his last two races here. We couldn’t have wished for better.”
The $9625 winner’s purse tonight, added to his $4400 winnings from Cambridge last week, brought the horse’s earnings from seven starts since arriving in the north to $16,706 for Melbourne owners Merv and Meg Butterworth.
Ray Green … perfect finale for Tartan Robyn.“I thought when he arrived that he could win a couple of races in Auckland. He’s gone some super races previously without winning but he’s done us proud.”
Green said despite the six-year-old’s form surge there would be no change in the plan to fly the horse to Melbourne on April 28 to join the stable of Kerryn Manning.
“He’ll be rehandicapped to something like 73 after tonight which means he’d have to front up to Copy That and co and he can’t do that.
“He’ll do well over there where he can be placed much better.”
Green said driver Maurice McKendry drove the perfect race on Tartan Robyn, starting his run three wide all of 600 metres from home.
“He needs to be driven like that. He’s no champion but he keeps going. He needs a solid pace and that’s what he got tonight.
“Maurice said the race suited him - the even quarters were right up his alley.”
And when Tartan Robyn hit the front just inside the 200 metres it was all over, too late Cya Art’s passing lane challenge and American Me’s charge from the back for fourth.
It was an appropriate win for McKendry in a race named in honour of champion horseman Tony Herlihy as with 3305 wins in the cart the “magic man” lies only second to the “ice man” who has notched 3566 wins.
Tartan Robyn’s winning time was a swift 2:40.1, a mile rate of 1:57.1, with the closing 800 in 58.3 and 400 in 29.6.
Tartan Robyn, who paid a healthy $8.60, leaves New Zealand with a career record of seven wins and eight placings from 48 starts for $57,737 in stakes.
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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.”
