Bartley hoping Franco Norway continues his winning way

Rebecca Bartley is hoping comeback kid Franco Norway (Art Major) will reach the heights of metropolitan harness racing after ending a mammoth hiatus with success late last month.

Bartley and co-trainer Stephen O’Donoghue were in the spotlight when they produced the six-year-old pacer for victory at Shepparton on January 27 – some 822 days since his only other start in October of 2020.

That debut performance at Menangle – when in the care of Tim Butt – also returned a win, meaning the son of Art Major is now unbeaten from two career outings.

With Bartley in the sulky, Franco Norway endured a wide passage through the early stages at Shepparton before eventually finding the lead, and from there he raced clear in the home straight to prevail by more than 11 metres.

“It was a big thrill,” Bartley said. “I put a bit of pressure on myself with that one. It was a very big relief.

“I was just questioning whether I’d done enough fitness-wise. You always worry when they’re first-up for two years, but he’d shown in his work that he was ready to go.

“He hasn’t really been wound up yet. I haven’t pushed the button with him and I still think that’s a little while away.

“He’s still got a lot of improvement.”

Bartley said Franco Norway was sent her way about six months ago from owner Mick Boots, who cited leg issues as the reason behind a long stint on the sidelines.

“He was quite a big horse, so we did a lot of swimming early days and slow jogging,” she said. “We just kept an eye on his legs the whole way through and treated them like he has had injuries.

“They’ve always been looked after and, touch wood, we’ve had no problems.

“I always like to strip the weight off horses that have had tendon trouble – that took a while.”

Unsurprisingly, Bartley is keen to take a slow and steady approach with Franco Norway’s upcoming racing as she looks to step the horse through his grades.

“We’re just going to keep taking our time with him,” she said.

“Obviously you don’t really know how far they’ll go, but I’m kind of expecting him to make metro grade.”

by Tim O’Connor, for Harness Racing Victoria