Ray Green, left, and Lincoln Farms’ boss John Street who has now enjoyed 525 harness winners.
Hard act to follow: A million dollar season for Ray and Lincoln Farms
By Barry Lichter • 4 August 2021
2020-21 will be a hard act to follow but Lincoln Farms’ trainer Ray Green is looking forward to the new season nonetheless with some quality young pacers in the pipeline.
The racing season which officially ended last weekend was easily the most successful for Green who nudged $1 million in stake earnings for the first time, winning 41 races here and in Australia.
Headliners Copy That (12 wins, $411,347) and American Dealer (8 wins, $282,126), who are owned overseas, accounted for $693,473 of his $941,599 total but Green also won quarter of a million dollars with Lincoln Farms-owned horses.
Along with the 20 races which Queensland trainer Al Barnes won for the stable, Lincoln Farms’ own runners bagged 39 wins, taking John and Lynne Street’s lifetime number of harness wins to 525.
“It’s been a particularly good year, certainly the best I’ve had as far as dollars and wins is concerned,” says Green who has come a long way since he notched two wins and $9440 with Soky’s Rocket in his first season as a trainer in 1988-89.
“I’m grateful to have had three quality horses - you can’t win those big numbers without them - and I know I’ll be lucky to achieve it again. It’s a tough act to follow.”
Copy That was a consistent headliner in New Zealand where he won the Group I four-year-old double of the Taylor Mile and Messenger. His 10 wins here and two in Australia saw him bag the most wins by any horse during the season, one more than leading filly Bettor Twist (11 wins).
Green climaxed the season in Queensland, winning eight races and A$253,256 with Copy That, American Dealer and Tommy Lincoln, including feature wins in the Sunshine Sprint, Queensland Derby and East Coast Derby.
His combined stakes tally was the fifth highest of New Zealand stables behind premiership winner Robert Dunn ($2.16 million), Mark Purdon and Natalie Rasmussen ($1.89 million), their replacement Hayden Cullen ($1.72 million) and Steve and Amanda Telfer ($980,453).
But whereas Dunn lined up 748 starters, and the Telfers 487, the Lincoln Farms barn had just 191.
With American Dealer and Tommy Lincoln no longer in New Zealand, Green has only Copy That to aim at the big prizes but he is keen to see what his mostly untested newcomers can do.
“We’re basically pinning all our hopes on green two and three-year-olds this season. There are about 13 two-year-olds and 11 yearlings in work and we’re only a week or two away from bringing a new lot to the races.”
Simply Sam … one to follow.Unlike previous seasons when horses had their birthdays on August 1, New Zealand is transitioning into a calendar year season, the next five months a bonus for the youngsters.
One who will be helped by the delayed start to the new season is Simply Sam whom Green labels as potentially a leading candidate for the better three-year-old races in the new year.
“He’s had a few growing issues and will be out in the paddock for another three weeks yet but he showed he could be a serious contender last time in.”
More news in Harness
Prince Lincoln spearheads record-sized team for Lincoln Farms at Cambridge on Friday
Ray cautions punters with no lead this time for Jekyll and Hyde colt Prince Lincoln
Two (not so) secret weapons help Lincoln Farms to $29,287 payday at Cambridge
Deb dresses her latest ‘Copy’ weanling in white and he delivers a Major coup
Our runners this week: How our trainer rates them
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.”
