Billy Lincoln bowling along in the lead for Hayden Barnes in his Queensland debut win last week. PHOTO: Dan Costello.
Tiger should win from the outside, Billy can too, but he will have to earn it from the back
By Barry Lichter • 2 October 2019
Sir Tiger might have drawn the outside of the gate but he should still be too strong for his rivals at Albion Park on Friday night.
That’s trainer Al Barnes’ simple assessment of the $11,000 Pot Of Gold Final for which Sir Tiger is favourite after his impressive Queensland debut win last week.
“He’s improved in leaps and bounds since his last race and should just be too good for them.”
Sir Tiger went into last week’s heat well underdone after a training hiccup when he kicked out and ended up with a huge haematoma high up inside his leg.
Sir Tiger bolts away from his rivals in last week’s heat.And while he easily put away his rivals with a 7 metre win in 1:55.6, Barnes could tell by his post race heart rate of 101 that he was well off being fully fit.
On Friday night he believes the race sets up nicely for Sir Tiger as he can see Narissa McMullen charging out on Betterthanspraying and setting a genuine tempo.
“I don’t know what Tiger’s gate speed is like and how safe he is but Hayden will find out.
“He can come out, balance, and progress forward after a couple of hundred metres and roll to the chair.”
From there, says Barnes, Sir Tiger should have the stamina to beat them.
Sir Tiger will also be better geared up this week with a pole to help keep him straight.
Poor draw for Billy on Thursday
Billy Lincoln, who also scored easily in his first Brisbane race last week, lines up again on Thursday, drawn the inside of the second row in the opening race at 2.50pm.
On paper it looks a poor line-up but Barnes says sometimes that can make it harder to win from the back row, especially over only a mile with a pacemaker like Datsgood drawn to lead and capable of running 1:56.
“Billy will have to go back to last and circle them and you only need one to gallop in your face and you’re in trouble.
“It will be a test for him, he’ll have to earn it and do a bit of work, and he’s still not a racehorse yet. He’s very green and has a lot of learning to do so it will be interesting to see what he can do.
“But he would have taken a lot of confidence out of his win.”
Billy Lincoln made short work of his rivals last week, pressing forward to lead and cruising home by 9.7 metres, closing in 58.2 and 28.6 to record a mile rate of 1:58.7 for the 2138 metres.
“I don’t think the drop back to a mile helps him but ability-wise it’s not a great field.”
Billy Lincoln races at Albion Park at 2.50pm NZ time on Thursday.
Sir Tiger races at 8.12pm NZ time at Albion Park on Friday night.
More news in Harness
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Johnny Lincoln’s big ticker will stand to him in the States and Lover’s also sold to Aussie
No Jumals to beat this time at the Park so Ray’s looking for Lincoln Wave to roll in
Lincoln Linda best of the night at Cambridge - she has the engine to cross Soul Artist
Our runners this week: How our trainers rate them
Ray’s comments
Thursday night at Cambridge
Race 1: Rivergirl Bella
5.44pm
“She did well here last time as she had to do a bit to get to the lead and she dug in and fought on. She’s certainly a chance if she repeats that effort.”
Race 4: Lincoln Linda
7.09pm
“I thought she went super last time after doing a lot of work. She can do that because she has an engine and is tough. She’s a bit one-dimensional - you have to turn her loose early - but from the two draw she should be able to lead and that’s where she does her best work.”
Race 5: Sugar Ray Lincoln
7.34pm
“I think he’s a bit stronger after his spell. It’s not a great field - most will die on that mark - and I don’t see a problem with the standing start as he’s nicely gaited. He could be marginally unfit after three months out but he’s done quite a bit of work and I can see him going a half-decent race.”
Race 6: Lincoln Maree
7.59pm
“She had every chance last time but I can’t see why she won’t go well again. She’s as honest as they come and tries like hell.”
Race 7: The Night Fox
8.29pm
“You’d think he’d lead easily from the inside. He’s had bad draws and still got the money, so I’m sure he’ll go another good race. I’m surprised they sold him so cheaply. He’s better than people think.”
Ray’s comments
Friday night at Auckland
Race 1: Lincoln Wave
5.09pm
“With the trip he got in the Harness Million I thought he’d have run on a lot better. But he was still a bit short on fitness and sometimes we can expect too much of these horses, he was racing the best, after all. It’s a big drop in grade here and he’s a pretty fair horse.”
Race 1: Leo Lincoln
5.09pm
“He’s an honest sort who’s in a good space but he won’t get a wonderful trip from the outside of the gate this time so I’m not holding my breath.”
Race 3: Sammy Lincoln
6.04pm
“He’s training down well but you never know what he’s going to do. You think you’ve got him sorted and he does something silly. But we know if the real Sammy turned up, he’d be very hard to beat as he’s got a lot of speed.”
Race 5: Prince Lincoln
7.05pm
“He’s another where you don’t know which one will turn up but we’ve gelded him since his last run, so we’ll see if that helps. He trained well the other day.”
