Cambridge lost its Jewels day but is shoring up stakes for its remaining five meetings of the season.
Cambridge tops up stakes to $7500 for the rest of the season and retains incentives
By Barry Lichter • 12 May 2020
Waikato-Bay of Plenty Harness will top up all stakes for the rest of the season to $7500, barring amateur races which will be run for $7000.
Under the recently released funding model, Cambridge has been allocated $7200 per race, but President Graham Bowen says the club believes setting a flat stake is the fairest way of returning the maximum amount to industry participants.
Graham Bowen … fairest way.The revised stake will also reflect the new rating points matrix whose lower stake threshold is to be set at $7500.
Cambridge will continue paying the incentive payment of $1750 to the connections of horses who win twice on the track during the season, providing they had already won before lockdown.
The $10,000 Dunstan Horse of the Year Series will continue. The owners of the horse with the highest points after the last meeting of the season will receive $4000 and the trainer a $3000 product prize. The trainer of the horse with the next most points will win a $2000 product prize and the trainer of third, a $1000 product prize.
Points leaders are: Lovely Bundy (24), Lukyanova (22), American Me and Flying Steps (19), Jingles Bromac (18), Still Eyre and Delson (17).
The club has five dates until the end of the season with its first an eight-race programme starting at noon on Sunday, May 31.
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Ray’s comments
Friday night at Cambridge
Race 2: Johnny Lincoln
5.39pm
“He didn’t do anything at Auckland last start but seems to go better left-handed and placed at Cambridge in his only start there.”
Race 2: Lincoln Maree
5.39pm
“Her driver (Harrison Orange) said she would have won last start had that horse (Mr Miki) not stopped in her face. The winner was gone by the time she saw daylight. She will just need some luck from the second row draw.”
Race 2: Prince Lincoln
5.39pm
“He should have won last start at Auckland but we’ve taken the blinds off on Friday night and, in a weaker line-up, going left-handed, we’ll see how he goes.”
Race 4: Spiritual Bliss
6.37pm
“I think the race will be won or lost soon after the start. It’s out of our control, we just have to hope she gets a run through and then I’m sure she’ll be hard to beat.”
Race 8: Lincoln Downs
8.40pm
“She’s got a little bit of lick but only has a short sprint, so timing is everything.”
Race 8: Lincoln Lover
8.40pm
“Being put in the race from the start last time obviously took a bit of the sting out of him. But at least there’s no chance that will happen this time from the second row. In his previous races he’d ducked for cover and got sucked along but he needs a decent tempo, he’s no sit-sprinter.”
