Nandor finds his mojo on the provincials but bad draw makes it harder on Thursday
By Barry Lichter • 9 December 2020
Don’t expect to see Franco Nandor back racing at Auckland any time soon after he fell in to score at Palmerston North yesterday.
Trainer Ray Green, who will back the horse up on the second night of the meeting on Thursday, says the result shows the three-year-old is best suited to provincial racing.
“We’ve found the level at which he’s most competitive and hopefully he can get some money again on Thursday, but it will be a lot harder from the second line.”
Franco Nandor moves from two on the front line, from where he was able to find the lead on the first day, to three on the second row in the sixth race.
From there it will be up to driver Zachary Butcher to try to find an economical trip for the horse on the turning Manawatu circuit.
“I’m not sure what his problem is but he gets very nervous and stressed out,” says Green.
“Sometimes it’s like he’s decided he doesn’t want to be a racehorse. Zac said he felt enormous at the top of the lane but was looking to get out of it soon afterwards.”
To his credit, Franco Nandor didn’t throw it away completely and at the line held a half head margin over Mac’s Tomado, who sat parked throughout and lost crucial ground on the home turn through pacing roughly.
Franco Nandor’s win was the second for Lincoln Farms’ owners John and Lynne Street and their partners in the horse, top golfer Ryan Fox, Denis Ebert, Steve MacDonald, Chris Prutton and Wayne Seebeck.
In slushy conditions Franco Nandor clocked a mile rate of 2:03.6 for the 2000 metres, closing in 59.2 and 30.1.
Green credits the wet track with helping Brian Christopher into second in the last race as he only had to run home his last 800 metres in 61.4.
“He doesn’t have a lot of speed and the wet track probably brought the faster ones back to his level.”
Brian Christopher, having only his second race and first for four and a half months, enjoyed a nice run through from the second row to score the early one-one but was soon left parked out.
The Bettors Delight three-year-old hit the lead just before turning for home and kept battling away, swamped late by the stronger finishing Nerano.
On Thursday, in the third race, he lands a better draw of two, from where he should get a much easier trip and be able to stay in touch.
While limited, Green says Brian Christopher is honest and he’s hoping he can be in the finish again.
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Ray’s comments
Friday night at Auckland
Race 2: Debbie Lincoln
5.53pm
“She was good fresh-up but a bit disappointing last week. She’s still very green and I’m not sure what to think about her yet.”
Race 5: Sugar Ray Lincoln
7.12pm
“He’s the best performed of them all and will get a good trip from one so that means he’s the best of our bunch. He raced well below his best down at Christchurch and we think he might have had a bit of a virus - there was a lot of it down there.”
Race 5: Leo Lincoln
7.12pm
“He wasn’t getting the corners 100% last week. We’ve changed the bit to see if he steers better. He’d be very dangerous if he did but he could be better left-handed.”
Race 5: Kevin Kline
7.12pm
“He’s doing nothing wrong and hopefully he’ll keep going well. Maurice said he jogged it last week and the step-up in opposition shouldn’t be too much of a worry for him.”
Race 5: Tyson
7.12pm
“He’s a strange little horse. You never know what to expect. Some days he’s brilliant, others he’s hopeless. We’ll see how he gets around this time.”
Race 5: Lincoln Lou
7.12pm
“It’s a shame he’s drawn the outside because he’s training well and trialled well, but he should still go a good race. He always goes well if there’s nothing wrong. He was hitting his knees down in Christchurch.”
Race 7: The Big Lebowski
8.04pm
“If Sooner The Bettor gets to the front obviously he’ll be hard to run down but he’s no Merlin and I think we’re a big chance if he does everything right. He’s not out of it from 20 metres.”
Race 10: Frisco Bay
9.38pm
“The race will do him good after a short break. You can put a line through that last run at Ashburton. I think he was one who had a few passengers on board (a virus) because he wasn’t anywhere near as good as he had been. He went big at Addington in his previous start and was unlucky. If he’d been one slot closer he would have won easily.”
Race 11: Onyx Shard
10.08pm
“She’s a beautiful filly but it’s her first run for seven months so I’m not expecting anything too flash. She’s training really well, and driving beautifully, but she might need a race or two before we see the best of her. If she gets home well this week, I’ll be happy.”
Race 11: Commander Lincoln
10.08pm
“He’s an honest little horse who’s always thereabouts without being dangerous. Fergie might wake him up a bit.”
