Dalgety blue blood brains them on debut at Addington

There’s a saying in harness racing that once a horse gets out on the track, he doesn’t know who his mum or dad is. Judging by the ease of the win on debut at Addington Raceway this afternoon for the Cran and Chrissie Dalgety trained Franco Sinatra (Captaintreacherous), I’m picking he might have some idea.

The three-year-old gelding is by the boom sire in Captaintreacherous and out of the imported Western Ideal mare, San Rafaella, who was bred in Canada at Tara Hills Stud and imported in utero with her Artsplace dam, San Sophia by New Zealand agent, Peter O’Rourke.

San Sophia’s sisters make up some of the best producers in North America with 22 $100k+ earners coming from these tail lines.

San Sophia is a full sister to world champion mare, Galleria ($1,814,453), winner of a Breeders Crown at three and twice USA filly/mare of the year. She is the grand dam of the 2017 Little Brown Jug winner, Fillibuster Hanover ($1,883,295), while another full sister, National Gallery is the grand dam of another millionaire in 2014 2YO Breeders Crown winner, Traceur Hanover.

San Sophia herself is the dam of smart New Zealand pacer and now sire, Raging Bull (Christian Cullen) as well as the dam of today’s race winning producer San Rafaella, giving you some context to just how well-bred Franco Sinatra is.

The $55,000 yearling sales purchase has quite a bit to live up too but hearing from his race day pilot and co trainer after the race, it’s clear they are picking a bright future for him.

“We bought this guy at the yearling sales and he’s out of a very good mare,” said Carter Dalgety to Nigel Armstrong of Harness Unhinged after the race.

“He’s quite a big boy and we’ve been pretty patient with him, but he’s done that very nice. I drove him in two out of his three trials, and we’ve just never found the bottom of him. Even today he’s done that easy, so I think there’s a bit more in the tank,” he said.

Dalgety gave the son of Captaintreacherous a dram sit in transit lobbing the one-one sit throughout, with front runner Medina Magic and Tim Williams setting a good tempo at the head of the field.

When Dalgety asked his charge for the ultimate effort turning for home, he soon put pay to the opposition and careered away form an impressive debut victory.

FRANCO SINATRA REPLAY

The winning margin was one- and three-quarter lengths with a mile rate of 1:57.3 for the 1980m journey. The closing sectionals were 57.2 and 29.6.

Co trainer, Cran Dalgety more or less echoed the sentiments of his son post-race and alluded to some bigger targets for the three-year-old in the future.

“He’s all arms and legs at the moment and is very big for his age,” said Cran Dalgety.

“Carter was lucky enough to get into a good position and follow a good horse into the race and get a good trip so a good maiden win but we will look to sink our teeth into something a bit more after this,” he said.

Franco Sinatra is owned by a large contingent of owners including Southlanders Brendan and Nigel Fahy, and well-known horseman, Rex Knowler.

Rex was on hand in the Breckon Farms winning owners bar to offer his thoughts with the first horse he raced out of the Kentuckiana Lodge barn.

“Cran has his one liners but once you work out what they mean it’s all good,” he laughed.

“I used to race not a bad two-year-old with Mark and the All Stars. I saw Cran had bought a close relation of his a couple of years ago and I phoned him having had nothing to do with him prior and said if he needed any shareholders for the yearling I would be interested.

“He told me he had bought him to go to the States but said he had a couple of others, and one was a Captaintreacherous so that’s where it’s started, and it’s worked out good,” he said.

Knowler has a long history in horse racing albeit in the other code.

“My lifetime was in thoroughbreds where we trained our own in Southland and I rode a few.

“I got too old to be training them. My first standardbred was a horse called Arden Torres with Mark Purdon. He had a pea brain, came here one night and he tried to jump every shadow of the lighting poles in the warmup. Mark did a few rounds and brought him back into the barn and said we won’t be running tonight, that wasn’t a great introduction,” he laughed.

“Since then, I have had a number of horses with Phil and Glenys Kennard in their syndicates and it’s been enjoyable. When you have been around horses your whole life, it’s in your blood and you don’t get out of it,” he said.

Knowler heaped praise on his pacers young reinsman in Carter Dalgety and picked a bright future for the gifted junior driver.

“He does a great job for a young fella, he’s very mature in the sulky and they seem to run for him, so he’s got a great future,” he said.

For complete Addington race results, click here.

by Brad Reid, for Harnesslink