by Michael Guerin
Cran Dalgety may be taking one of the best horses at the meeting in Franco Sinatra to Addington tonight but that won’t be the highlight of his harness racing weekend.
Because tomorrow sees the return to the stable he runs with wife Chrissie and son Carter of arguably New Zealand’s best pacer Republican Party.
The now mutiple Group 1 winner of the Auckland and Invercargill Cups as well as the Messenger and Roy Purdon Memorial, Republican Party has spent the last month on the water walker and has grown out, if not up.
“He hasn’t got much taller but he has put on 24kgs,” says Dalgety,
“That brings him up to around 460kgs which isn’t too bad for him because he has never been a big horse but we think he will be stronger this campaign.”
After his dazzling last eight months Republican Party is being set for the race the Dalgetys want most, the IRT New Zealand Cup in November.
“It is the one race that has got away from me and it bugs me,” admits Dalgety.
“It looks like it could be a really strong Cup this year if we get Leap To Fame back and Swayzee looking for his third Cup, so it won’t be easy.
“But we have a really good horse who will be on his home track so it has to be his aim.”
Dalgety realises that Franco Sinatra (R6, No 9) who starts off a 30m handicap tonight could even end up racing Republican Party in some of the spring races even though he is not in the same class.
“He is becoming a hard horse to place,” he says of Franco Sinatra.
“He can’t beat Republican Party or those other better horses but the owners are all keen to see him race down here and he is off 30m this week even though I’d really rather not start him. Where else do I go with him?”
“We toyed with the idea of sending him to Aussie or even selling him but the owners are loving racing him and I really respect that. But it won’t be easy this week. It isn’t just the 30m handicap but the fact you have to either try to get around them at some stage or drive for luck and neither of those are easy.”
Franco Sinatra was brave beating many of these last start when fresh up last start but goes back 10m in the handicaps and that could cost him valuable field position and suggests his last start runner-up Slots is the one to beat tonight.
The Dalgetys are only racing a few horses through winter and one goal is to get a win with maiden Delighted (R4, No 1), a sister to former Derby hero Sheriff.
Her broodmare career would benefit from a win and even some black type, which shouldn’t be too far away as both races she has contested so far have been run in sub 2:0 mile rates.