Francent stuns with Canadian record in Milton Stakes

New Zealand’s reigning 4YO Pacing Mare of the Year Francent has quickly adapted to North American racing, beating the continent’s top pacing mares in her first Northern Hemisphere stakes assignment, the $255,000 Grade 2 Milton Stakes at Woodbine Mohawk Park on September 5, in which she also set a new Canadian record.

After defeating an almost identical field at her previous start, Francent’s connections paid a $20,000 supplementary entry fee for the Milton Stakes.

That confidence proved to be well-founded. Despite running the opening half in a blistering 53.6, the 5-year-old daughter of Vincent finished strongly to best fellow NZ-bred mare Louies Girl by three-quarters of a length.

Her winning time of 1:47.6 lowered the Canadian All-Age Pacing Mare’s record by one-fifth of a second. The previous mark was jointly held by Dan Patch Award winners Twin B Joe Fresh and Grace Hill.

A Group 1 winner in New Zealand, Francent has now won 17 of her 35 starts and has added Canadian $216,509 in earnings to her previous New Zealand winnings of $291,740.
 
Bred by Robert Higgins, Francent is out of the Courage Under Fire mare Mary Niven, who has left a remarkable six winners from six foals of racing age to date, including the recent Ashburton Nevele R Fillies Series heat winner Mattie Nevin.

Francent’s Canadian record is just the latest highlight in what has been an exceptional run for Vincent, underscoring his value this season at NZ$2,500 + GST and AU$2,750 including GST.