Yet Franco Nelson made up for that disappointment with a fabulous win in tonight's $100,000 Group One Bohemia Crystal Free-For-All at Tabcorp Par Menangle.
This race is traditionally won by the horse that was unlucky not to be selected in the big race and Franco Nelson's 1:53.2 win proved he could have held his own against the best pacers in Australasia with a superb effort.
Victorian visitor San Carlo tried hard to lead all the way but couldn't hold off the flying feet of Franco Nelson in the run to the line, finishing by a half neck with Mach Doro two and a quarter metres away third.
Part-owner Ron McKay sang the praises of the Trittons for their efforts with Franco Nelson:
"When we came from New Zealand we had great expectations for this horse and by giving him to Shane and Lauren we knew they would bring out the best in him," he said.
"It was a magnificent drive by Lauren and the horse didn't disappoint – for the McKay family it is our first time here but it won't be our last – it was so great to win a race like this."
Reinswoman Lauren Tritton agreed:
"It's a great night tonight and Franco is something special to me," she said.
"A lot of people didn't have the faith in us here but he has gone on and won a Group One for us so we couldn't be prouder of him.
"Shane's done a super job with this horse."
Franco Nelson
6 | 8:48pm | BOHEMIA CRYSTAL FREE FOR ALL (GROUP 1) | 2400M |
$100,000 RBD. Mobile | Final Results |
Pl | Horse | Prize- money |
Row & Br |
TAB # |
Trainer | Driver (C = Concession) |
Mgn (m) |
Starting odds |
Stewards' Comments |
||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | FRANCO NELSON NZ | $ 60,000 | Fr1 | 1 | S P Tritton, L R Tritton | Lauren Tritton | $ 1.70 fav | ||||
BAY HORSE 8 by CHRISTIAN CULLEN NZ out of NOTAFELLA FRANCO (NZ) (FALCON SEELSTER USA) Owner(s): C L McKay, R L McKay, M S McKay Breeder(s): Spreydon Lodge Ltd |
|||||||||||
2 | SAN CARLO | $ 15,000 | Fr8 | 9 | Stephen O'Donoghue | Rebecca Bartley | HFNK | $ 8.00 | |||
3 | MACH DORO | $ 10,000 | Fr6 | 7 | Craig Cross | Luke McCarthy | 3.00 | $ 25.40 | |||
4 | AZTEC BROMAC NZ | $ 5,000 | Fr2 | 2 | KerryAnn Turner | Robert Morris | 4.10 | $ 11.40 | |||
5 | MY GENERAL LEE | $ 2,500 | Fr10 | 12 | Michael Doltoff | Josh Willick | 9.20 | $ 129.10 | |||
6 | MY ALPHA ROCK NZ | $ 1,500 | Fr3 | 3 | S P Tritton, L R Tritton | Natalie Rasmussen | 15.20 | $ 5.60 | |||
7 | YAYAS HOT SPOT NZ | $ 1,500 | Fr4 | 5 | S P Tritton, L R Tritton | Jack Trainor | 19.40 | $ 48.20 | |||
8 | MOONROCK NZ | $ 1,500 | Fr9 | 10 | Sonya Smith | Anthony Butt | 26.80 | $ 17.20 | |||
9 | ATOMIC RED | $ 1,500 | Fr7 | 8 | Steve Turnbull | Steve Turnbull | 27.90 | $ 14.50 | (L) | ||
f | MONIFIETH NZ | $ 1,500 | Fr5 | 6 | John McCarthy | Andy McCarthy | $ 38.20 |
Scratchings | |
---|---|
LET IT RIDE NZ | 4 |
CROCKETS CULLEN NZ | 11 |
Track Rating: GOOD | Gross Time: 2:48:8 | Mile Rate: 1:53:2 | Lead Time: 56.0 |
First Quarter: 30 | Second Quarter: 28.3 | Third Quarter: 27.8 | Fourth Quarter: 26.7 |
Margins: NK x 2.2m |
Sean Vella