Franco Lomu and Ashley Frank impress ahead of Rising Stars final

By Michael Guerin

Next week’s $30,000 Rising Stars Final could be a beauty if Friday night’s Addington action was anything to go by. 

Because in very different ways Franco Lomu and Ashley Frank did enough to suggest either could win next Friday’s three-year-old final sponsored by Touchdown Car Rentals.

The race will of course be sharing top billing with the Maurice Holmes Vase next Friday but the Rising Stars will have a point of difference with a field full of race hardened and in-form horses on show.

Franco Lomu was the first of them to suggest he can win next Friday when he sprinted brilliantly between horses to win one of the better races of the night.

Once favourite Always A Porsche raced to the lead in the middle stages punters could have been forgiven for thinking the race was over but he then copped some back straight pressure from Trump Card.

Then just when it looked like John Stewart was going to use the passing lane to slingshot to victory Jonny Cox found the perfect gap at the 100m mark and Franco Lomu didn’t waste any time using it.

“Regan [Todd, trainer] was happy enough for him to be driven for a bit of luck tonight with the final next week and he sprinted very well,” said Cox.

“He is a pretty fair horse so we are looking forward to next week now.”

Ashley Frank’s win could not have been more different with the big rolling stayer holding on tenaciously in his first run of a new campaign after being launched by driver Blair Orange.

It was impressive stuff, especially as trainers Hayden and Amanda Cullen had only given Ashley Frank one trial leading into the race.

Ashley Frank is a brother to former talented 1:50 pacer Ashley Locaz and while next Friday is his obvious next goal after winning the heat , he looks to have plenty of upside for later in the season and into next year.

There was plenty to like about the way Nansana left maidens earlier in the night, while Fred Fletcher kept up his good run of training form with a quinella in the main trot when Paris Prince beat home The Royal Gamble.

Royal Belle capped a good week for trainers Peter and Mitchell Robertson while Asymmetric Return made it two on the bounce and Irish Dream won the last race in style for trainers Colin and Julie DeFilippi with the great CJ in the sulky.