Punters who scorched their fingers when they backed Lincs Tiger into second favouritism at 2-1 last Friday night should recoup their losses by supporting the New Zealand-bred three-year-old in the opening event, the Book Into The $50 Beau Rivage Buffet Special Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Lincs Tiger is poised to burn brightly this week after he was the victim of bad luck last week and finished a distant last, 50 metres behind Speed Man.
He began speedily from barrier four and was about to burst to the front after 300m when he locked wheels with stablemate Fizzing, broke into a gallop and dropped back to ninth before Ryan Warwick urged him forward, three wide, to race without cover. He was still third with 420m to travel before he wilted after his torrid run.
Lincs Tiger, trained by Greg and Skye Bond, had shown considerable promise, with his six previous starts producing three wins and three placings. He is favourably drawn at barrier two on the front line this week and Warwick is sure to make a bold bid for the early lead and then set the gelding the task of leading all the way over the 2130m journey.
Lincs Tiger, the first foal out of Tigerzureal, is certainly bred to be a good winner. His maternal granddam Tigerish was an outstanding performer, having 79 starts for 15 wins, 21 placings and $491,957 in prizemoney.
Tigerish won a $70,000 feature event for two-year-olds on debut at Alexandra Park in March 1991 and she also won a group 2 event that season before winning three group 1 events as a three-year-old, a group 2 event as a four-year-old and a group 1 feature event for mares as a five-year-old, beating Lento and Blossom Lady.
Fizzing, like his stablemate Lincs Tiger, is being set for the rich feature events for four-year-olds in the coming summer. He has raced 21 times for five wins and nine placings. He was three back on the pegs in fourth place at the bell in last Friday night’s race and battled on to finish fourth. He looks tested from the No. 8 barrier this week.
Champion reinsman Chris Lewis has decided to handle Fizzing in preference to the Steve Parsons-trained Mega Moolah, a gelding he has driven for a win at Bunbury and an encouraging second to Benhope Rulz at Gloucester Park at his past two outings. Aiden de Campo has been engaged to drive Mega Moolah from the testing draw of No. 9, the outside of the front line.
Adding interest to the race will be the return to city racing of the Aiden Warwick-trained Roman Aviator, who will be driven by Aldo Cortopassi from the awkward draw of No. 6. Roman Aviator had a tough run when he raced wide in the middle stages and then in the breeze before finishing second to Rock Me Over at Bunbury at his most recent outing. That followed a winning sequence of six.
Liam Neil, a winner of six races for Byford trainer David Thompson, is capable of a forward showing. He will start from barrier four on the front line and will be driven by Dylan Egerton-Green.
Thompson also prepares Itsnotova, a winner at two of his 19 starts who will be driven by Colin Brown from the favourable No. 1 barrier.
Ken Casellas