Linebacker just needs luck, says Marshall

Jack Milner

Trainer Vaughan Marshall is delighted with the way Linebacker has come ahead of tomorrow’s R5-million Hollywoodbets Durban July and is just hoping for one more element.

“Everything is fine, all spot on. We just need the other little thing called luck,” he said yesterday.

“He’s done very well and I am very pleased.”

Speaking about the decision to race him in blinkers Marshall said they were going to put them on last year to get him to concentrate on the race and then didn’t. “We put them on for the Gold Challenge this year and it worked, so we decided to keep them.”

There are some concerns that Linebacker has not won a race since last year’s Daily News 2000 but last year’s Durban July runner-up has been ultra-consistent.

“He has run in every race available to him – the Green Point Stakes, the Queen’s Plate, the Met, Drill Hall Stakes and Gold Challenge, so it is not as if we’ve been shirking anything. There were no other races he could run in,” said Marshall.

Grant van Niekerk has the ride on Linebacker once again, and they will jump from No 4 draw.