Lights, camera, Action - Lincoln Farms should find the winners’ circle at Auckland
Lincoln Farms looks to be in for a good night at Auckland on Wednesday, with strong winning chances in three races.
Man Of Action gives Ray Green’s stable the ruling hand in the ninth race, Tommy Lincoln will have a big team of supporters in the seventh race after winning three workouts on end and two-year-olds Franco Nandor and Captain Nemo strike a winnable race in the fifth.
Man Of Action, drawn the pole, should pounce straight onto the lead in the Always B Miki Pace and be very hard to run down.
He was all over a winner of his fresh-up race on July 1 until be broke 150 metres from home.
And since then he has trialled in terrific fashion, powering along in front at last Friday’s Pukekohe workouts and winning easily by two and a half lengths.
“The way he trialled he’s got to be a serious chance,” says Green. “He just lost concentration a bit last start but I’ve also tweaked his gear up a bit. His hopples were way too long and it has made a big difference.”
Stablemate American Dealer, who is under offer, has been scratched.
Driver David Butcher only has to extricate Tommy Lincoln from the inside of the second row to be the one to beat in race seven.
It will be his first start since March but he has looked a new, improved version in winning three lead-up workouts, beating stable star Copy That each time.
“The way he’s been trialling, against much better horses, makes him very hard to beat,” says Green.
“It’s not ideal drawing the second row, where he is at the mercy of the ones in front of him, and he might get fired up in his first race, but he seems a lot more settled this time in.”
Tommy Lincoln is drawn to follow out Whisky Neat, trained and driven by Butcher’s son Zachary who can be expected to make good use of the pole and at least try to hold his spot.
Tommy Lincoln proved to be a very capable front-runner last campaign and, thrown in with the bear cats, managed a third in the Derby Prelude behind Copy That and One Change.
Franco Nandor is the stable’s best chance in race five, drawn to be in the fight from the get-go.
“He trialled really well last Friday and pulled up well,” says Green.
“He’s coming to it and won’t have to be very good to beat that lot.”
Franco Nandor ran only fifth one resuming two weeks ago but was forced to face the breeze throughout and from two on the gate on Wednesday night should get a gun run.
“He looks our best chance in the race on paper,” says Green.
“Captain Nemo is still a bit gormless, and doesn’t have the smarts like the other guy. He might need a bit more experience before we see the best of him but he could still win.”
Captain Nemo beat Franco Nandor home last time, when fourth, but didn’t accelerate from the one-one trip like he should have. He has drawn awkwardly in five this time.
There might be some side bets on the pair regardless between top golfers Ryan Fox (Franco Nandor) and Gareth Paddison (Captain Nemo) who were gifted shares in the horses by Lincoln Farms’ boss John Street after finishing one-two in the recent Wairakei Invitational.
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Ray’s comments
Friday night at Auckland
Race 9: Kevin Kline
9.55pm
“When Maurice asked him to go at the top of the straight at Cambridge he got lost and didn’t quite know what to do. He wound up well in the end but just left it a little late. He’ll learn from that and should go well again.”
Race 10: Debbie Lincoln
10.22pm
“She has ability but she’s a work in progress. She’s fast but she needs to harness it. She gets a little claustrophobic when they come around her so the mission on Friday will be to get round without her doing anything stupid. She’s a much stronger individual now than when she started off in April.”