Up periscope! Captain Nemo set to open all main vents in $30,000 Albion Park feature

Captain Nemo is racing so well, trainer Mark Dux will give him a shot at a A$30,000 Group III race at Albion Park in a few weeks.

And in the meantime Dux believes Lincoln Farms’ tough pacer has a royal chance of landing the money in the third race there on Friday night.

Dux could not have been more impressed by Captain Nemo’s bravery last Friday night when he started a solo run three wide at the bell and was there for the remainder of the 1660 metres yet was still beaten only by 2.4 metres in fourth.

“For a fleeting moment on the corner I thought he was a bit of a hope and right on the line he was picking them up again,” Dux said.

“He was beaten only a couple of metres and he ran the fastest last half, 56.12, after being wide all the way. He’s going terrific, he has a lot of guts.”

Captain Nemo recorded the fastest closing sectionals in the race last week, making up 11 metres on the leaders over the last 800 metres despite being solo three wide.

Dux believes Captain Nemo is well up to tackling the $30,000 three-year-old feature on November 13, especially as it is over the longer trip of 2138 metres.

Last week he was really put to the test over 1660 metres, when he barely had time to catch his breath after the opening rush before Dux had to get on his bike round the field.

“I had to get up there before they started to sprint. It’s too hard trying to make ground when you’re giving them too much of a start.

“There’s more chance they’ll settle over 2138 metres. I would imagine we’ll end up parked at some stage on Friday. If they come out slowly, he could be there in the back straight the first time. He’ll be awfully hard to beat if he gets there early without having to do too much.”

Dux says Friday’s field is good and strong - a rating 70 to 85 compared with the previous week’s 63 to 71 - but he’s sure he’ll be competitive.

“It’s just a matter of where we lob. It’s always tricky to assess where you’ll end up but if there’s good speed early in the race so I’ll just let him float out of the gate and play it by ear. It will just come down to getting a bit of luck.”

Meanwhile, Lincoln Farms’ stablemate Tommy Lincoln is having a couple of weeks off after showing Dux last Saturday he had had enough in the meantime when only sixth behind former Lincoln Farms’ flag bearer Northview Hustler.

“Normally Tommy keeps coming but he couldn’t finish off last week. He’s had a lot of hard racing and just needs a wee freshen-up.”

Captain Nemo races at 9.52pm NZ time at Albion Park on Friday night.