Hanoi Franco wins maiden for Shennan

Yaldhurst trainer Peter Shennan has been in the harness racing game for a long time and today he trained his third winner when Hanoi Franco (Tintin In America) took out the first race at Methven.

“It was good to be shaking hands with guys I hadn’t seen for a long time,” Shennan said after the seven year old mare won her first race.

HANOI FRANCO REPLAY

Hanoi Franco qualified at Rangiora in March 2022 as a five year old, finishing second behind Smoke On The Water. Since then she’s had thirty two starts.

“Her form’s been in and out and we couldn’t quite work out why. So I’m not sure whether it was perseverance or stupidity, but we got there in the end.”

Driver Riley Harrison gave Hanoi Franco the perfect trip trailing pacemaker Delta Kilo until well into the long Methven straight. Once she released the removeable deafeners the mare came away to win by two and three quarter lengths from a late charging Melton Magnate.

“Riley text me a good couple of months ago looking for drives which I take my hat off to. So we’ve stuck with her. We had spreaders on her but we took those off today and I think the grass may have helped a wee bit to. We’ll look at going to the Mot (Motukarara) in a couple of weeks.”

Shennan’s other winners have been Tartan Lustre at Kaikoura in 1998 and Lavros Segil at Addington in 2022. Tartan Lustre’s win was as close as you get to a triple dead heat, with two noses separating the first three placegetters.

Shennan who’s based at Lavros Lodge at Yaldhurst, worked as a printer for The Press in Christchurch. He’s held a trainer’s licence for two periods – between 1995-2000 and 2022-2024.

“I’m great mates with Craig Thornley and every now and then I got a horse off him from Spreydon Lodge. She (Hanoi Franco) hasbeen a bit of a character but thanks to the advice from Regan Todd and the boys at Lavros Lodge we’ve worked through the issues (laughter). We used to float her in her early days and she’d just about wrecked the float.”

Owned by Peter’s wife Yvonne, their daughters Leanne Shennan and Lynette Jefferies and Lynette’s husband Brent, Hanoi Franco is a half-sister to Southland iron horse Franco Huntington who from 253 starts has won 16 races.

“Yvonne and I pay the bills for them. We bath in the glory for a day or two then it’s back to the work. Yvonne and I live in town and I think if I didn’t have the horses I’d drive her mad.”

“I’d just like to thank Regan, Russell Kennedy, Wayne Ivey, Derek Jones and the blacksmiths at Lavros Lodge. It’s just the wee things that they all do. You lose your way sometimes and they give you a hard time but they help you get back on (the horse) again.”

Meanwhile a highlight of today’s meeting was Sheree Tomlinson’s success in winning three races on the card.

She drove Zsazsa Binx and Brian Beatt for her grandfather Ken Ford and mother Amanda Tomlinson and Classie Linc for Bruce Negus.

It’s the third times she’s driven three winners in one day. The other occasions were at Waikouaiti in February of this year, at Wyndham in October of last year and at Oamaru in February of 2020.

Her best raceday tally though was achieved at the Marlborough meeting in January 2023 when she drove four winners – Brian Beatt, Fourth Amendment, Zsa Zoe and Whats Wanted.

In her overall tally of 280 winners 39 have been for Negus, 16 for her grandfather and mother in partnership, and a further 30 for her grandfather when he trained on his own account.

For complete race results, click here.

by Bruce Stewart, for Harnesslink