It had been a while since regally-bred mare Naiya Franco had won.
But Mark had not lost the faith in the daughter of former star pacing mare Nearea Franco.
Some 14 starts had passed since her January win at Oamaru without success, but often in fields of a good quality, particularly in mares events.
“She had been racing well, and though we’d had good draws at times, they were in the better fields. Then you draw poorly in the lesser ones and on any day a poor draw is still a tough draw to beat,” said Jones.
Stable driver Sam Ottley gave her a lovely run at Addington (Aug 2) coming from midfield then one-one to launch at the top of the straight and run down Friend (Ben Hope).
Naiya Franco is owned by Queensland resident Mark Denyer who has raced others with some success in the Mark Jones stable.
Ultimately a broodmare career looms, the Mach Three daughter of one of New Zealand’s best pacing mares is sure to produce foals of value further down the track.