By Michael Guerin
Greg Manson did something he wouldn’t usually do with Franco Marek at Addington on Thursday night but he might be doing it a bit more from now on.
The way the star of his five-horse stable won wearing flip flops in the main pace, on Thursday, The Peninsular Beachfront Resort – Mooloolaba Handicap Pace, they could be the answer to the high-class pacer’s problems.
Franco Marek held out Vessen after wresting the lead off him mid-race and roaring home his last 800m in 54.6 seconds, the final 400 in 26.3.
They don’t go much quicker which may surprise a few trainers as Franco Marek was racing in flip flops for the first time.
Flip flops are pads which can be worn as part of a horses shoeing, the padding helps negate concussion often in the knee region but in Franco Marek’s case trainer Manson is more trying to alleviate hoof concerns.
“He has always had an small soundness issue which is why he can go rough when he is going slow,” says Manson.
“He has raced that way most of his career so I tried the flip flops on him intending to take them off closer to the races, which is what I hear some trainers do.
“But I took him to Lavros Lodge last week and he worked great in them so I decided to try them race day even though some people believe they seem to slow a horse down a bit.
“They worked tonight so he might keep them on when he goes to the Rangiora Classic next weekend.”
That $35,000 race is Sunday week meaning Franco Marek will miss his engagement at Ashburton on Saturday where he was set to be the backmarker in the Ashburton Cup.
“I put him in that race because I thought tonight’s race wouldn’t get off the ground.”
Franco Marek may return to Addington for a free-for-all on March 14 but Manson is already thinking ahead to this year’s New Zealand Cup, the iconic race that Franco Marek finished eighth in last year.
“He got crook on his Cup campaign last season so it was all a bit rushed last year and I just have to be a little bit smarter about it this time around.”
He wasn’t the only old boy to overcome a handicap to win a feature on Thursday night with Midnight Dash coming off the 25m handicap to win the main trot even after burning hard in the middle stages.
The seven-year-old was recording his first win since December 2022 and while he has raced the trotting elite most of the time since then he has also had to overcome a breathing issue that has had Team Hope work overtime to get him back to his best.
The other big eyecatcher on Thursday was Bazooka who rolled home in 26.6 to down Midnight Miki and Betterthancash in what should prove a good form race.