Robert Frankel was a great supporter of Fair Grounds. If Fair Grounds put up a nice stakes purse, Frankel would often ship a runner in for the event, and many times his entrants were highly regarded horses. Fair Grounds fans were very fortunate to see the likes of Peace Rules, Chester House, Beat Hollow, and many other stars from the Frankel barn race at Fair Grounds.
Much has been written about Frankel's wins in numerous Fair Grounds stakes. However, two notable stakes victories have been overlooked.
In 1986, Fair Grounds introduced the Week of Fame to close out the meet. The Week consisted of the $100k six-furlong Sprint on Wednesday, the $100k Ladies Handicap over nine furlongs on the grass on Thursday, the $100k Fortune Handicap over nine furlongs on Friday, the grassy $100k Derby on Saturday, and the $125k Gold Cup at 12 furlongs on the grass on Sunday. To entice trainers to enter multiple horses in the Week of Fame stakes, Fair Grounds offered a bonus to any trainer who could win more than two of these stakes in a year. Frankel answered the challenge.
In 1986, Frankel's horses ran well without winning any of the Week of Fame stakes. 1987 was a different story. Frankel's Rocky Marriage opened the Week by narrowly losing to Florida-invader Chief Steward in the Sprint. That defeat would prove to be costly for Frankel in terms of the bonus. The next day, Frankel saddled Solva, with Gary Stevens aboard, to a victory in the Ladies over the good mare Top Socialite. Frankel closed out that Week of Fame with a win in the Gold Cup as his Iades beat the Grade 1 winner Flying Pidgeon over a soggy Fair Grounds course.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment