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 Auckland
Race 1: Angelic Copy
4.53pm
“She’s done everything right and trialled really nicely. I think she’s forward enough to give some cheek. She’s only small. You like to think when you get a good two-year-old like her that they’ll get stronger and transition into a nice three-year-old but she hasn’t grown an inch. But she tries hard and enjoys being out there.”
Race 2: Major Copy
5.28pm
“I’m looking forward to seeing him. You never really know ’til you get to the races but he’s trialled well enough to start and I wouldn’t be surprised if he went a good race, despite the draw. He’s a nice sensible colt who’s done nothing wrong and he could develop into a really nice three-year-old.”
Race 6: Lincoln Wave
7.22pm
“He was starting to get into the habit of switching off so we trained him in blinds this week and he went pretty well. He was good from a standing start at the trials with shorteners in and Maurice was actually quite bullish about his standing start manners and thinks that, in time, he’ll end up being a quick beginner. If he steps well, and can land in the first one or two, he’ll definitely be hard to get round.”
Race 6: Sugar Ray Lincoln
7.22pm
“He’s not spectacular from a stand but he will get away, albeit sometimes a bit slowly. Lincoln Wave has more speed than him but if it comes down to a slugfest he’d be too strong as he’s rock hard fit.”
Race 8: Prince Lincoln
8.23pm
“The blinds go back on this week and if he steps and leads like he did three starts ago that would make him the one to beat. He showed with that win that he’s above average and will be a serious chance.”
Race 8: Rivergirl Bella
8.23pm
“You could argue she’s a Cambridge horse but sometimes when you throw them in with the bear cats they lift their game and I thought she was really good here last week. Tony (Cameron) said she’d have finished a bit closer too if he hadn’t had to take hold of her close to home (when he ran out of room and hit a marker pole).”
Race 8: Sammy Lincoln
8.23pm
“We’ve got blinds on him this week. Harry said he lost concentration a couple of times last week, including at the top of the straight, and thought he’d be a bit more on to it with blinds on. I still thought his was the run of the race last time - none of the others could have done what he did - and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him score.”
