Trojan Banner … his colty behaviour has cost him a start in the Redcliffe Derby. PHOTO: Trish Dunell.
Playful Trojan in the dog box after hurting himself - Al pulls him out of Redcliffe
By Barry Lichter • 19 June 2019
Trojan Banner is out of Saturday night’s A$21,000 Redcliffe Derby after hurting himself in his box.
But the good news is the colt’s injuries are only superficial and trainer Al Barnes expects he will be over the hiccup inside a week so it won’t prevent him from peaking for his two big targets.
Trojan Banner, unbeaten in six starts in Queensland, was to have trialled at Albion Park yesterday but Barnes found he had played up during the night.
Al Barnes has big boxes with a window as seen in this shot with Northview Hustler.Trojan Banner, whose colty behaviour has concerned Barnes in recent weeks, appeared to have reared up shoulder high and struck out, getting a leg over the timber of a high window at the back of his box.
“He took a bit of skin off and there’s a lot of swelling and bruising. I gave him some bute last night to help him as he’s pretty stiff and sore.
“He’s got a bit of a bump on his leg but it’s nothing serious and this will only set us back a few days.’’
Barnes says while his boxes are roomy and secure he will now ensure that doors attached to the windows are closed at night to prevent a repetition of the incident.
While frustrating, Barnes says the Redcliffe Derby wasn’t originally on Trojan Banner’s programme as he had doubts about how he would handle the tight circuit.
And that’s why he had planned to trial the horse yesterday to make sure he would be a least 90% right for the race.
“We would have been vulnerable at Redcliffe anyway as his first big race is not until July 13 - this might have even done us a favour.’’
Trojan Banner’s two main assignments are the Group III A$31,400 South East Derby (2138m) at Albion Park on July 13 and the Group I A$100,660 Queensland Derby (2680m) on July 20.
Trojan Banner’s defection sees Lincoln Farms’ other Redcliffe Derby runner Make Way move in to five on the outside of the front row.
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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.”
