
Krug rears high for Blair Orange before his workout at Auckland. He looks the one to beat in the opening Young Guns heat on Friday.
Ray down to only two guns but both Platinum Stride and Captain Nemo have bullets to fire
A slight sniffle will keep Bondi Shake out of the first Young Guns’ heat at Auckland on Friday night but trainer Ray Green expects Platinum Stride and Captain Nemo to be right in the fight.
Green had been aiming for a three-pronged assault on the opening two-year-old contest but he treated Bondi Shake for a minor virus earlier in the week.
However, with Platinum Stride ($41) in gate two and Captain Nemo ($41) in five, Green suggests there’s even a chance his pair could lead and trail.
Platinum Stride has shown any amount of zip in his preparatory workouts and, with leading horseman Anthony Butt in the cart, will get his chance to set the tempo.
Captain Nemo also surprised driver Zachary Butcher with the amount of early gas he had in a special workout on the course last Tuesday, declaring he could have led by anything had he asked the horse to run.
“Obviously it’s different in a race - there could be three or four with designs on the lead - but both have the ability to lead,” says Green.
“I expect them both to be very competitive. The two-year-olds look a pretty even bunch this year, there’s no real standout yet.”
Lined up across the track near the finish of last week’s workout it’s, from the inside, Platinum Stride, Bondi Shake, Captain Nemo and Vincent Van Gone.While the Lincoln Farms trio bowed to southerner Vincent Van Gone in their latest workout at Auckland, Butt reported Platinum Stride was only just getting warmed up at the line.
The Captaintreacherous colt, who cost big spending Australian Emilio Rosati $82,500 at NZ Bloodstock’s Christchurch yearling sale, has been one of the most precocious of the Lincoln Farms babies from the start.
Captain Nemo, also by Captaintreacherous and a $110,000 buy for Lincoln Farms’ John Street, looked a little green last week, Butcher reporting his hopples needed tightening up and that he didn’t seem to know what to do after cruising to the lead in the run home.
Krug rushes home wide out for third in his workout at Auckland.Their main rivals trialled three days later and while the first two home were the All Stars’ pair of First Class and It’s All About Faith, the eye-catching run came from the Cran Dalgety and Nathan Purdon-trained Krug who thundered home for third.
Krug demolished the other pair at the cup trials at Addington last month and, even from gate seven on Friday night, is the one to beat.
Green will give new recruit Classie Reactor his chance in the opening race on Friday, where he lines up the highest equal rated runner for his first race in the north.
He gets the worst draw of eight in the rating 47 to 59 event, not an easy task over a mile at Alexandra Park.
The winner of two of his five starts, Classie Reactor will be having only his second run for owner Merv Butterworth after a spell of 16 months and Green says “whatever he does, he will improve on.”
Classie Reactor looked a likely type, however, when he powered home for a close third to star pacer Self Assured at the weekend workouts.
“He could have pulled up a bit better that day but he trained not bad yesterday,” says Green.
“He feels like he’s got a bit of speed but we’ll find out on Friday.”
More news in Harness
Consisent little Lincoln Lou sold to Western Australia to join fellow ex-Kiwis
Kevin Kline caps record day for Casey and loyal Lincoln Farms’ team - and can repeat
It’s bon voyage Frisky as Ray celebrates another rags to riches sale success
Huge disappointment for Lincoln Farms as exciting Colonel Lincoln bows out again
Our runners this week: How our trainers rate them

Nathan’s comments
Tuesday twilight at Manawatu
Race 4: Leo Lincoln
5.44pm
“Fergie’s drive on Sunday was perfect, you couldn’t ask for better, and he said the horse was doing his best work in the last 50 metres. Maybe with another 100 metres he might have got there. His gate speed is only OK so I can see him getting crossed here.”
Race 5: Kevin Kline
6.19pm
“Fergie said he did it easily on the first day, and the horse only did what he had to. He’s been racing much nicer horses at Auckland so it was good to get the win, hopefully it will boost his confidence. I’ll leave the tactics up to Fergie but I imagine he’ll probably do the same thing again, loop the field and outstay them.”
Race 6: Onyx Shard
6.54pm
“I was hoping she’d drop down a grade. She’s had some tough trips recently, having to do a lot of work, and it didn’t help being three wide for the last lap on the first day. Also they only walked and sprinted home. She could be better coming with one run at them.”

Ray’s comments
Friday night at Cambridge
Race 2: Lincoln Lover
5.33pm
“He had no chance last start when trapped three wide all the way. That won’t happen this time from the inside draw so that gives him a chance to get some of it.”
Race 2: Prince Lincoln
5.33pm
“He’s shown no gate speed so the wide draw doesn’t matter. He’s coming along all right but will need lots of luck against the hot pots.”
Race 5: Debbie Lincoln
6.54pm
“She seems to have overcome her tying-up issue, her bloods are good, and she’s training well again. She could possibly be underdone and the seven draw makes it very hard.”
Race 6: Lincoln Lou
7.20pm
Scratched. Sold to Western Australia.