Up periscope! Captain Nemo set to open all main vents in $30,000 Albion Park feature
By Barry Lichter • 28 October 2021
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.
More news in Harness
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Ray cautions punters with no lead this time for Jekyll and Hyde colt Prince Lincoln
Two (not so) secret weapons help Lincoln Farms to $29,287 payday at Cambridge
Deb dresses her latest ‘Copy’ weanling in white and he delivers a Major coup
Our runners this week: How our trainer rates them
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.”
