Lincoln Road
Singapore Turf Club
Promising sprinter Lincoln Road picked up where he left off in smashing style when he resumed a winner on Sunday to stretch his unbeaten run to four wins.
A three-from-three (all over Polytrack) at his first prep last year, the Swiss Ace four-year-old has not raced for 147 days but from the way he made short work of his rivals in the $60,000 Open Benchmark 67 race over 1100m, it felt like he has never been away.
Things did not quite get off to a clean start for the strapping gelding, though, but jockey John Powell, who partnered him to two of his three wins, kept his composure and that was probably the key to the record staying unblemished at the end of the 1100m journey.
With a horde of runners snapping at his heels, Lincoln Road kept up a steady tempo upfront before the point of turn where he produced a sizzling burst that shrugged off his rivals in no time.
Winning trainer Shane Baertschiger said seeing his ward pocketed in during the running had him on the edge of his seat but his confidence was restored once he saw the gelding get clear.
"He had a plum draw and jumped well, but he could have been shuffled back and the race would have been over for us," said Baertschiger.
"But JP did the right thing and once he got back in front, I knew it would take a good horse to run him down.
"He ran without blinkers at his two trials and we saved the blinkers for the race. We will stick to Polytrack and will consider the grass when he run out of options."
Powell said he was a little concerned about maintaining the winning streak for Lincoln Road if the gelding's fitness was not 100% but was reassured when he saw the horse weights sheet.
"Then you do worry about fitness for a horse who has been away so long, but I knew he was fit enough when I saw the body weights. He was only one kilo up.
"He hit the line solid and I'm sure he'll improve further after that run."
A Westbury Stud graduate of the 2013 Select Sale, Lincoln Road has now taken his growing stakes earnings past the $130,000 mark for his owners the New Zealand-based Lincoln Farms Stable.
A three-from-three (all over Polytrack) at his first prep last year, the Swiss Ace four-year-old has not raced for 147 days but from the way he made short work of his rivals in the $60,000 Open Benchmark 67 race over 1100m, it felt like he has never been away.
Things did not quite get off to a clean start for the strapping gelding, though, but jockey John Powell, who partnered him to two of his three wins, kept his composure and that was probably the key to the record staying unblemished at the end of the 1100m journey.
With a horde of runners snapping at his heels, Lincoln Road kept up a steady tempo upfront before the point of turn where he produced a sizzling burst that shrugged off his rivals in no time.
Winning trainer Shane Baertschiger said seeing his ward pocketed in during the running had him on the edge of his seat but his confidence was restored once he saw the gelding get clear.
"He had a plum draw and jumped well, but he could have been shuffled back and the race would have been over for us," said Baertschiger.
"But JP did the right thing and once he got back in front, I knew it would take a good horse to run him down.
"He ran without blinkers at his two trials and we saved the blinkers for the race. We will stick to Polytrack and will consider the grass when he run out of options."
Powell said he was a little concerned about maintaining the winning streak for Lincoln Road if the gelding's fitness was not 100% but was reassured when he saw the horse weights sheet.
"Then you do worry about fitness for a horse who has been away so long, but I knew he was fit enough when I saw the body weights. He was only one kilo up.
"He hit the line solid and I'm sure he'll improve further after that run."
A Westbury Stud graduate of the 2013 Select Sale, Lincoln Road has now taken his growing stakes earnings past the $130,000 mark for his owners the New Zealand-based Lincoln Farms Stable.
