Leading harness racing driver Gavin Lang drove Franco Tristan to perfection to qualify for the Easter Cup on Easter Saturday.
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Trained by Lang, Franco Tristan left his rivals in the dust and led around the bend with the Craig Hayes trained Scooterwillrev and Juanita McKenzie's The Aussie left to chase home the leader.
Last year's Easter Cup winner and heavy race favourite, Todd Rattray's Harjeet, shook off it's 30-metre handicap coming into the final lap and left its run slightly too late to come home in fourth, still gaining qualification for Easter Saturday's event.
A four-time Easter Cup winner in a career spanning more than 6000 wins, Lang was pleased with how Franco ran throughout the race.
"He made a safe beginning, that was the first hurdle out of the way," Lang said.
"He was in advance of the two main dangers, Scooterwillrev and Harjeet, so we were happy with the way things were progressing and once I found the lead, if the others beat him then he wasn't good enough to win."
Lang, from Bacchus Marsh in Victoria said it was a question mark as to how well Franco travel coming into the Tasmanian race but was very happy to get the win.
Having first won the Easter Cup in 1991, Lang has a rich history in Australian harness racing and is a member of the Inter Dominion hall of fame, named after one of the world's major harness series.
"Some of the horses I've won the Easter Cup for in the past were top bracket horses.
"I won on a local horse called Northern Brewer [1998] for the Stanley family and he was one of the best horses in Tasmania for a long time."
Franco Tristan will go head-to-head with the Troy Hillier trained and driven Illegal Immigrant, who came from out of nowhere in the second heat to overrun twin brother Rohan Hillier's Ryley Major and the Mark and Ben Yole led Max Richter.
Juanita McKenzie trained Inner Light continued her good start to the meeting rounding out the top four.