Lincoln’s Long Road Back
Friday night will be 10 days short of two years since 2019 WA Pacing Cup winner Rocknroll Lincoln last set foot on a racetrack.
Come Friday night there won’t be a more nervous person at Gloucester Park than his trainer Justin Prentice.
A lot has changed for Prentice since Rocknroll Lincoln’s last start in December 2019, highlighted by two Golden Slipper wins and an elusive WA Derby earlier this year.
Those feature wins from Mighty Ronaldo and Tricky Miki make it easy to forget it’s not just the younger age groups where Prentice is well stocked.
He now has his star Free-For-All horse back and ready to go.
The seven-year-old suffered a suspensory ligament injury in the 2019 Pinjarra Cup, less than two months after his Pacing Cup win.
He made a comeback late in 2019 and re-injured the suspensory in the Village Kid Sprint.
Prentice said he was under no illusion how much of a task Rocknroll Lincoln faces to get back to his best.
“We gave him 12 months off after the Village Kid and decided to get him gelded and hope to give him one more try,” he said.
“I’m never confident with him anymore, I’m more hopeful that he just gets through his racing.
“It would be nice to be able to bring him back in and get some race fitness before taking on the rock-hard fit Free-For-All horses.
“I just hope he can be really competitive in his first few starts back.”
Rocknroll Lincoln will get a good test on just how well he’s going when he lines up in this week’s FFA event over 1730m, where he will take on the likes of Chicago Bull, Wildwest and other potential starters in Magnificent Storm and Minstrel.
The son of Rocknroll Hanover has trialled twice in the build up to his return and won both in solid time.
Prentice will have to find a new driver for Rocknroll Lincoln this week, with regular driver Gary Hall Jnr set to continue his association with Chicago Bull.
Prentice said he had no firm plans for Rocknroll Lincoln this campaign and indicated any win would be a bonus.
“He’s not being aimed at the Pacing Cup, it’s just a coincidence he’s back this week,” he said.
“I was chatting to Glen Mortimer (owner) and said to him if we won any race from here it would be as big a thrill as winning the Pacing Cup.
“To see him back and winning would prove that the time and effort spent getting him back was worth it.
“He’s a horse that wants to race and loves being in work.
“It’s been hard in the past going to the stables every morning knowing we aren’t going to be working him.”
Mortimer said he was excited to Rocknroll Lincoln back and hoped to see him have a trouble free preparation.
“It would be amazing to win another race,” he said.
“It’s been a long road back.
“To see him going around again and win again, it would be as big as the Pacing Cup and you’d hear us at Gloucester Park.
“We hope he goes around safely and pulls up well and we can go from there.
“We will do what’s right for the horse.”
Meanwhile, Major Martini is also set to line up this Friday night in either the Conditioned or FFA event.
Prentice said he was content with the four-year-old’s first attempt at Free-For-All company on December 3.
“I was disappointed on face value with the run because he had a nice trip,” he said.
“The more I thought about it after the race, the more I thought I was probably being a bit harsh on him.
“The two races he had before that didn’t do much for his fitness.
“It’s also a big ask for him to step up to Free-For-All just two starts after running in a Derby.”
Tim Walker
Image – Hamilton Content Creators
WATCH – Rocknroll Lincoln’s WA Pacing Cup win in 2019