Turn It Up yet another headlining act in Street’s 38-year Franklin Cup sponsorship

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.