Lincoln’s Girl showed real stamina to win her Pot Of Gold heat over Timeless Appeal.
Lincoln’s Girl and Vasari to boost Al Barnes’ already terrific strike rate for Lincoln Farms
By Barry Lichter • 30 May 2019
Lincoln’s Girl and Vasari look beautifully poised this weekend to extend an already impressive strike rate for Queensland trainer Al Barnes with Lincoln Farms horses.
Lincoln’s Girl will start a hot favourite in the Pot Of Gold Final at Albion Park on Friday night and Vasari will be at even more restrictive odds on Saturday night, both drawn to jump straight into the driving seat.
Al Barnes … terrific strike rate with Lincoln Farms’ horses.Barnes is now training four pacers for Lincoln Farms and its partners and his record since the first two arrived at his Marburg stables in February now reads:
- Trojan Banner: Five starts, five wins
- Northview Hustler: Two starts, two wins
- Vasari: Four starts, one win and
- Lincoln’s Girl: Eight starts, three wins.
That’s an incredible 11 wins from only 19 starters and now that Barnes has Lincoln’s Girl and Vasari worked out, his strike rate can only improve.
Given how dominant Lincoln’s Girl was last week in winning her heat of the Pot Of Gold, we’ll be lucky to get $2 for her to take out the $10,960 final, run at 6.53pm on Friday night.
A perfectly executed drive by Barnes’ son Hayden saw Lincoln’s Girl overcome a second row draw that night, when she clocked a superior 1:54.2 mile rate.
“We’ve got lucky with the draw this time and from four on the front she should roll straight to the top,’’ says the trainer.
Lincoln’s Girl’s main dangers have all drawn the second line, last week’s favourite Cherrys The Best, snookered on the inside and likely to end up three deep, Timeless Appeal, three the second row, and the other much slower heat winner Im No Outlaw outside her.
“Lincoln’s Girl should be able to run home in 55 and that will make it hard for them to catch us.’’
Barnes says Lincoln’s Girl is improving and getting stronger all the time and after Friday he will start educating the filly at a longer trip.
It’s Vasari first, the rest nowhere, as he scorches to a 1:52 mile rate.Unbackable odds
Vasari, drawn perfectly in the ace on Saturday night, 10.49pm NZ time, meets much higher rated pacers but will be at unbackable odds after his supersonic 1:52 mile rate win last week.
“The horses drawn outside him don’t have the speed to cross him and he’ll lead again and be very hard to beat.’’
Vasari ran one of the fastest miles by a lower graded pacer at Albion Park last week when he clocked 1:55.5 for the 1660 metres, clearing out by 17.6 metres.
“He’s come through that really well,’’ says Barnes. “He’s easy to maintain.’’
While Vasari is a c4 horse in a race that has horses graded up to c9, Barnes says with the right horse and draw, the events are not hard to win.
The only horse in the field that has gone anywhere near Vasari’s 1:52 mile rate is Karinya Mully who clocked a 1:53.7 rate in her last-start win.
The fastest times run by the two horses drawn alongside him are 1:56.8 (Earl Jujon) and 1:56.4 (Oliver Winkle).
Lincoln’s Girl races at 6.53pm NZ time on Friday night.
Vasari races at 10.49pm NZ time on Saturday night.
More news in Harness
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Ray: Preferential draw for top fillies makes it tough for everyone else in Golden Gait series
Patient owners hoping high-priced Colonel can salute at Cambridge on Thursday night
Friday’s Lincoln Farms Franklin Cup all about the standing start manners of Aussie raider
Our runners this week
Tuesday at Cambridge
Colonel Lincoln, Onyx Shard, Commander Lincoln, Debbie Lincoln, Kevin Kline, Lincoln La Moose, The Big Lebowski.
Our runners this week: How our trainers rate them
Ray’s comments
Thursday night at Cambridge
Race 2: Commander Lincoln
5.51pm
“Back to Cambridge and the easier amateur ranks he can get some of it. He’s an honest little horse who pays his way.”
Race 4: Onyx Shard
6.49pm
“She’s a nice filly who is training really well and it wouldn’t surprise me to see her in the money in spite of the outside draw. She’d be one of the best in that field and is definitely an each-way chance.”
Race 6: Colonel Lincoln
7.39pm
“He hasn’t raced for nearly 21 months but his training has been good and he should go well first-up. He’s a beautiful, big horse who probably lacks a yard of speed to be a real super horse but he’s got everything else. I expect him to go well against this lot.”
Race 7: Lincoln La Moose
8.04pm
“He’s training well and has surprised us before, like when he won his first start at Cambridge like a monster after breaking on the first turn. It’s always the way when they win their first start - it makes things hard for them after that - but he’s travelling well now and is capable of being in it.”
Ray’s comments
Friday night at Auckland
Race 4: Lincoln Lou
7.09pm
“He’ll be relying on a heap of good luck from the second row. His last run was a non-event. The poor little bugger couldn’t have done a better job of finding trouble. He’s trained on all right.”
Race 4: Sugar Ray Lincoln
7.09pm
“He’s training really well and he showed last time what a big motor he had, losing all that ground early and still getting up to win. He’s not famous for his gate speed but as long as he gets away safely then Maurice can put him in the race at the right time. There are a lot of horses in there that aren’t that safe who could stand on their ear. Navigating through them is always a worry. He’ll need some luck but he could give them a fright.”
Race 6: Frisco Bay
8.05pm
“He obviously can’t beat Duchess Megxit or Jeremiah but if he gets a good trip he’s a chance of getting some money. Things didn’t suit him last time - being out three wide then going to the front. He’s so hot, he over-races. He goes best if he’s allowed to slop out and find the back of something, when he generally relaxes. Even if he got back a bit, that would be all right, so long as he gets sucked along.”
