Green and Delany chalking up the winners

Lincoln Farms harness racing trainers Ray Green and Nathan Delany are on a roll and with the quality bloodstock they have in their barn it’s likely to continue.

Success is not new to senior partner Ray Green. He’s trained 429 winners on his own account, 80 with Robert Mitchell, 67 with Delany and one with Andrew Drake.

This is Green’s thirty seventh season and Delany’s second season in the partnership.

“I’m getting on a bit now (80) so I needed someone I could trust and (could) take a lot of the load off. He (Delany) came to us from Kidz Kartz. He left school a year earlier and came to work for us for a couple of years. He worked briefly in Australia and came back and worked for Barry Purdon. He’s been around the right people and is an agreeable young man, which was ideal for me,” said Ray.

The partnership’s first winner was Angelic Copy at Alexandra Park in February of last year. Recently at Cambridge they recorded three wins, however their best result was at Auckland in February of last year when they won four races on the card.

Last year the Green/Delany partnership won 44 races and halfway through this season they have 23 winners in the bag.

“We’ve had a couple of good seasons, but we haven’t had a big race winner, which you need to ring the bell. We’ve got a handful of young horses coming on, so we might pick off one of those big races at some stage.”

Delany is grateful to be training with one of the sports greats.

“It’s a very good opportunity for me and the future,” he said.

Green has trained 444 winners for Lincoln Farms owners John and Lyn Street. The first was Badlands Bute in the Group Two New Zealand Breeders Produce Stakes at Alexandra Park in February 2004.

“We’re quite lucky with the owners we’ve got, especially John and Lyn Street. It’s quite a privilege,” Delany said.

Ray has twelve Group One’s to his name – four with Copy That, including two New Zealand Cups. Other Group One winners have been Badlands Bute (2), Sir Lincoln (3), Beaudiene Boaz (1), Besotted (1), American Dealer (1).

“We’ve had some seriously good horses, most of which we’ve developed from the weanling and yearling sales. We’ve only had three or four that we’ve bought in, including Bespotted who we bought after he was passed in at the Ready to Run Sales.”

Green has trained at Lincoln Farm for more than twenty years.

“Someone left the operation when Ray Norton was the trainer. They asked me to join the team and I’ve been there ever since.”

The farm has been an active buyer at the National Yearling Sales and last year they bought four yearlings at Karaka.

Green has also had remarkable success at the Weanling Sales and his purchases include Copy That, My Hard Copy and Tommy Lincoln.

“I think Debra (his wife) paid about four grand for My Hard Copy and Copy That cost about seven and a half grand. She’s very diligent and really does her homework. We both agree on everything.”

The Green/Delany combination have forty six horses on the farm of which twenty four are in work and they’re helped on the ground by Craig and Andy Sharpe, Monica Ranger, Andre Poutama and Lee and Robert Argue.

“We are having a good run. We’ve got good staff and that really helps a lot and we’ve obviously got the stock too,” Delany said.

He added that the training facilities are top class.

“We’ve probably got the best facilities you can get. We’ve got a walker and a pool and John keeps the paddocks nice and maintained. We use the Pukekohe track which is just under 1000 metres. The staff there do a good job, so that’s one thing we don’t have to worry about every day. One of our goals is to get to fifty winners and hopefully get a Group One. We’ve got a lot of nice horses, but Lincoln Wave would have to be the one (to win a Group One),” Delany said.

Ray has a bit of time for Sammy Lincoln too.

“He’s only won one. He has a lot of ability, but he’s just a little bit immature.”

He also likes a filly by Perfect Sting.

“I’m really high on her. I liked her so much that we sent the only mare we’ve go by Captaintreacherous to him.”

Nathan’s personal favourites are Major Copy and Omaha Lincoln, a Downbytheseaside two year old out of a full sister to Gold Ace.

Omaha Lincoln has had just the one start for a seventh. Whilst Major Copy won his last start at Cambridge recently.

“They’re both quite nice horses. I think they can go a long way.”

Lincoln Farms has a good bunch of yearlings at various stages of development.

“There’s a Huntsville that I quite like who’s closely related to Always B Miki (Huntsville-Virginontherocks). I’ve got a yearling filly of my own that I like. She’s a very nicely gaited pacer which I bought at the Weanling Sales for three grand. She’s an Art Major filly.”

He’s referring to Jaylah, who is a full sister to eight race winner Leo Lincoln.

The relatively new partnership is certainly kicking some goals. Their target of 50 wins in a season is very much achievable and perhaps there’s hope of a Group One winner in the fold as well.

by Bruce Stewart, for Harnesslink