Champion driver Maurice McKendry thinks
Lincoln Royal - or Sir Lincoln as he’s known in NZ - is the
right horse to rekindle memories of the golden decade when
Kiwi raiders dominated the Victoria Derby. If you
count Tricky Vic, who was in transition from a Kiwi to an
Aussie for his 2002 win, New Zealand pacers won eight
successive Derbys between 1996 and 2003.
They were: Sharp And Telford (1996), Lavros Star (’97),
Holmes D G (’98), Courage Under Fire (’99), Stars And
Stripes (2000), Rare Gem (’01), Tricky Vic and Bella’s Boy
(’03)
A significant and much-needed boost in NZ’s stakemoney has
seen the quality and quantity of the 3-year-olds crossing
the Tasman for the Victoria Derby really diminish in recent
years.
But the Ray Green-trained Lincoln Royal is a step back to
the glory.
Even the hardest judges would say he’s in the
top two or three of his age group in NZ this season.
McKendry arrived for his first drive at Victoria’s new
harness racing home, Melton’s Tabcorp Park, confident of a
big showing from Lincoln Royal and the son of Mach Three
delivered. “I’ve always thought he’s a really smart
young horse and he showed it again tonight,” McKendry said.
“He’s obviously handled the trip across well because he felt
fantastic out there. “He did a bit of work to find the
front, but nothing he couldn’t handle. I still felt like I
had a lot of horse left at the finish.”
McKendry joined
the chorus of horsemen thrilled to have a drive in one of
the major races at Moonee Valley’s farewell meeting on
Saturday night. After 33 years as Victoria’s home of
harness, this week’s Hunter Cup card will be the last at
Moonee Valley. Melton’s Tabcorp Park will host all of the
sport’s major races from then on. “It’s a bonus the
Derby’s at the last Moonee Valley meeting, I’m really
pleased about that,” McKendry said.
“It’ll be a bit of a
sentimental time, even a bit sad, for me because I’ve driven
in some really good races at the Valley. “I can
imagine how much it’s going to mean to the guys who have
been a much bigger part of the track’s history.” Back
to the $250,000 Victoria Derby Final, and McKendry thinks
Lincoln Royal is the horse to beat with a kind draw.
“Obviously we don’t get to see too much of the Aussie
3-year-olds back home, but I was well aware Lanercost and
For A Reason were very, very good,” he said.
“Lanercost came out and did what was expected in the First
Heat, but the one who impressed me, and everybody else I’d
reckon, was Major Bronski. “Given how highly For A
Reason is rated, I was surprised to see a horse (Major
Bronski) sit outside him and beat him. It was a fantastic
win, and he’s going to be a tough nut to crack in the
Final.”
Major Bronski is trained by Stuey Hunter of
Flashing Red fame and, despite sitting parked, he dashed
home in a 26.8 last 400m to easily beat a disappointing For
A Reason in a 1.58.3 mile rate for 2240m. Lincoln
Royal clocked exactly the same mile rate in the third and
final Heat, but the races were run very differently.
While Major Bronski’s race was a sprint home after a slow
lead time, Lincoln Royal burned at the start, dawdled in the
middle, then sprinted home again at the finish.
Lincoln’s
Royal lead time, when he was working seriously hard to find
the front, was 43.3 compared to 46.5 for Major Bronski and
47.3 for Lanercost. But Major Bronski’s driver Chris
Alford, driving a Hunter-trained horse for the first time,
said he wouldn’t swap his drive in the Final for anything.
“That was an amazing win,” he said.
“I was content to run
second to For A Reason when I had to sit outside him, but
when Luke (McCarthy, driving For A Reason) roared at his
horse on the home bend and didn’t kick away, I pulled the
(ear) plugs on Major Bronski and he quickly had the leader
covered. “Blueagle, Golden Reign and Tailamade Lombo
are the best 3-year-olds I’ve driven and this guy felt up in
the same league as them.”
Alford is chasing his third
Victoria Derby win after scoring on Golden Reign in 1993 and
Blueagle in 1995. Lanercost’s trainer/driver Darrel
Graham said the PGG Wrightson Ready To Run purchase did
everything he wanted to win his Heat. “It was only his
third run for the season and he did it comfortably. He had
the easiest run of the Heat winners and I know how much
improvement there is to come,” he said.
New Zealand
will also be represented in the Final by the underrated
Courage To Rule, who ran a lot better in his Derby Heat than
a fourth placing to Lanercost reads on paper. Driver
Greg Bennett was forced to make a sustained three-wide run
without cover from back in the field.
Despite the winner running a blistering 26.5 last 400m,
Courage To Rule kept coming to finish just 5.5 metres away.
SA Derby winner Renaissance Man lost few admirers with a
third to Lanercost after working around to sit outside the
leader. The other eye-catching run of the Heats came
from Chariot King, who also worked outside of Lincoln Royal
for the second half of his Heat and held on well for second.