Lincoln’s Kruz first, daylight second: 1000 metre specialist burns the turf at Trentham

Part-owner Jeff Roach was left lamenting the lack of 1000 metre races in New Zealand after Lincoln’s Kruz went close to a New Zealand record for the distance at Trentham today.

Roach and his wife Vicky share in the ownership of the showy black who burned the Trentham turf with a 56.19 gallop, leaving favourite Burgundy Rose in his wake.

The time was less than a second outside the track record of 55.21 set by Diamond Like in winning the Lightning Handicap in 2003, ironically carrying the same weight of 52kg and scoring by exactly the same margin of four and three-quarter lengths.

“It’s a shame they don’t have many 1000 metre races here - they seem to have one every week in Australia, but then they breed sprinters. A friend of ours said after the win today ‘watch out the Flemington straight’.

Lincoln’s Kruz, Australian bred by Kuroshio, was notching his sixth win, and fourth over 1000 metres, and with in-form apprentice Lily Sutherland aboard benefitted from a huge weight relief on last week when he carried 58.5kg in the Telegraph.

Lincoln’s Kruz and Lily Sutherland are well clear at Trentham today. PHOTO: Peter Rubery/Race Images.Roach and his wife weren’t at Trentham today, they were at home in Taupo, continuing the frustrating run of never having been at the track when Kruz has won.

They were at Trentham last week, determined to enjoy the Group I glow few get to experience, let alone with their first horse.

“I saw someone interviewed on Trackside saying his relatives had been racing horses for 50 years and it was their first Group I runner.

“We know we’re lucky to have a horse who can take us to the top meetings in the country.”

The Roaches will be in Wellington for the cup meeting next week but, of course, Lincoln’s Kruz won’t be there.

After backing up the horse so quickly, trainer Lisa Latta is now likely to freshen him up while she scours the programmes for the next 1000 metre race he is eligible for.

Latta had tipped Lincoln’s Kruz would bounce back to form today and had only one worry pre-race, that he might again let himself down by pulling too hard in the running.

But Lincoln’s Kruz appeared more settled before the race and, after again going down to the start early, he paraded calmly behind the stalls.

With the field depleted to five, after first the withdrawal of dangers Brando and Rockland, then the late scratching of Fibonacci, Lincoln’s Kruz was probably in more danger of over-racing on a slow pace.

But Sutherland let him stride to the front after only a few hundred metres and from there he never looked in danger, opening up a big lead early in the run home.

Now the winner of $161,266 from 38 starts, Lincoln’s Kruz hasn’t done a bad job for a $150,000 ready-to-run buy and if his effort today is anything to go by there’s still plenty of fun left in the six-year-old for the Roaches, Lincoln Farms’ John and Lynne Street, Ian Middleton, Peter and Bridget Morris and Sue Croft and Steve Haylock.