Franklin Cup sponsor John Street with Jim and Anne Gibbs, part-owners of Friday night’s winner Turn It Up. PHOTO: Race Images.
Turn It Up yet another headlining act in Street’s 38-year Franklin Cup sponsorship
By Barry Lichter • 15 December 2018
John Street has seen a string of topliners win the Franklin Cup in the 38 years he’s been sponsoring the race - one of his own included.
And Turn It Up looked a worthy addition to the honour roll when he headed home an All Stars’ trifecta in the pre-Christmas feature on Friday night.
In what surely must be one of the longest running sponsorships in harness racing, Street and his wife Lynne these days underpin the race under the banner of their Lincoln Farms Bloodstock.
But for a majority of the years it was known as the Pak ’N’ Save Cup, when Street would invite his supermarket contacts like Anchor Foods, Griffins and Cadburys to the race night and entertain 400 guests on the top floor at Alexandra Park.
Street’s sponsorship began in 1981 when Dave Gibbons’ Paul Command won the race and over the years many of harness racing’s champions have won the magnificent trophy en route to bigger things.
Franklin Cup winners to have won the Auckland Cup in the same season have included horses of the calibre of The Bru Czar (1990), Sharp And Telford (1996), Auckland Reactor (2008) and Vincent last year.
Street won the race himself in 2004 with the showy black Attorney General who went on to forge a successful career in the United States before returning here for a stud career.
In recent years the Franklin Cup has been the sole domain of Mark Purdon and the All Stars Stable - Turn It Up’s win was Purdon’s fifth on end.
Incredibly Purdon has won eight of the last 11 runnings with previous winners Vincent, Titan Banner, Its Bettor To Win, Smolda, Highview Tommy, Russell Rascal and Auckland Reactor.
Purdon shares in the ownership of Turn It Up, along with Lee Pilcher who was gifted a share by All Stars on the death in May of his brother Neil, and Waikato identities Jim and Anne Gibbs.
In his post race speech on Friday night Street acknowledged the rare contribution Jim Gibbs has made to racing.
Gibbs, a leading thoroughbred trainer for 47 years, is no stranger to winning big races - he developed Doriemus and kept a small share in the galloper after his sale, sharing in his 1995 Caulfield-Melbourne Cup double.
Since his retirement in 2009 Gibbs and his wife Anne have had a great run owning pacers and tonight will be in Melbourne for the A$500,000 Interdominion Grand Final at Melton where their charge Spankem will start one of the favourites.
More news in Harness
Prince Lincoln spearheads record-sized team for Lincoln Farms at Cambridge on Friday
Ray cautions punters with no lead this time for Jekyll and Hyde colt Prince Lincoln
Two (not so) secret weapons help Lincoln Farms to $29,287 payday at Cambridge
Deb dresses her latest ‘Copy’ weanling in white and he delivers a Major coup
Our runners this week: How our trainer rates them
Ray’s comments
Friday night at Cambridge
Race 1: Spirited Belle
4.46pm
Delany: “I saw she’d been punted but somebody must know something we don’t as I’ve been working her myself and, while she feels all right and hasn’t put the boot in like at Auckland, I think she’ll need the run. She hasn’t got any high speed but feels like she will stay. She has improved a bit but I’d be surprised if she won.”
Race 1: Lincoln Maree
4.46pm
“It’s always hard from these draws but she’s a tough mare who will make her own luck at some stage. She’s going well enough - her drivers have all been happy - and she’s a little warrior who tries like hell.”
Race 2: Major Copy
5.12pm
“He’s only two and very inexperienced but he feels like a good colt and there’s a lot of improvement in him. He certainly caught a lot of people’s attention last time. I don’t know how good he is yet but he’ll be right there.”
Race 2: Prince Lincoln
5.12pm
“If he can lead without having to do too much work I can’t see anything beating him. I thought he went great last start. He pressed the winner hard ’til the corner then just flattened out in the run home, but he had every reason to do that after all the work he’d done.”
Race 4: Spirit Of God
6.12pm
“She’s been undone by bad draws. If she led easily from three she’d be hard to beat as she’s a good front-runner.”
Race 4: Spirited Peggy
6.12pm
“We’ve had her for only two weeks but she’s seven now and has had her chance to win one. She has a bit of speed but I think she gets pulling so we’ve got the Hidez (compression) hood on her and plugged her ears up.”
Race 6: Copy N Paste
7.10pm
“We won’t see the best of him for another six months. He’s been a slow developing horse but is improving all the time and getting stronger.”
Race 6: Jessie Lincoln
7.10pm
“If I was having a bet on one of them in the race it would be her. She deserves to win one. Her last two have been really good - she just ran into one who was a bit slicker last time in Major Copy.”
Race 6: Lincoln Dealer
7.10pm
“He’s a bit one-dimensional - you’ve got to feed him track and let him run - so the second row draw is a big handicap. To his credit I was surprised he finished so close last time after all the work he did. When he gets a decent draw and crosses them they’ll know they’re at the races. He’s got a big motor and tries hard.”
Race 8: Rivergirl Bella
8.08pm
“She clawed her way to the front last time but had nothing left at the finish. That won’t happen this time and she should lead easily from one.”
Race 8: Angelic Copy
8.08pm
“She’s had terrible draws but has been going good races. The others last time were just better than her but this is a big drop in class. With the right trip she could get some of it at huge odds.”
Race 9: Sugar Ray Lincoln
8.35pm
“He’s not quick away from a stand but he won’t muff it completely. He steps from the front line and Peter Ferguson was quite happy with his last run.”
Race 9: Lincoln Wave
8.35pm
“He bombed the stand the first time but to be fair all those horses were rushing up at him from the back and that panicked him a bit. He’s on 10 metres this time so that won’t happen.”
