Franco Sinatra takes out the Methven Cup

In-form Spreydon Lodge-bred pacer Franco Sinatra claimed back-to-back stakes victories with a determined win in Sunday afternoon’s Group 3 Methven Cup (3000m).

The Cran and Chrissie Dalgety trained free-legged pacer was away safely and took the lead with just over 2100m remaining.

The 6-year-old upped the tempo over the final 800m and held off Mo’unga by half a length, with Wag Star another one and a half lengths back in third.

A last-start winner of the Group 3 Hannon Memorial, Franco Sinatra has now won 16 races and almost $290,000 in stakes money.

A start in next month’s $800,000 New Zealand Trotting Cup now looks all but guaranteed, with Franco Sinatra seventh in the starting order rankings.

Franco Sinatra (pictured as a yearling) was sold to Kentuckiana Lodge for $55,000 at the 2021 NZB Standardbred Christchurch Yearling Sale.

By Captaintreacherous, he is out of the Western Ideal mare, San Rafaella, who has produced seven winners to date, including the stakes-placed Franco Santino and Puntarno Stride.