Frank's Rockette Tries a Mile for Kicks in Frizette
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Photo: Coady Photography
Frank's Rockette breaks her maiden at Churchill Downs
While Frank's Rockette will not have to tangle with Perfect Alibi in the $400,000 Frizette Stakes (G1), she will have a different challenge on her hands in the Oct. 6 stakes for 2-year-old fillies at Belmont Park.
After kicking up a storm in her career debut for trainer Bill Mott, winning by an eye-opening 8 3/4 lengths at Churchill Downs June 21, the daughter of Into Mischief faced Perfect Alibi as the favorite in both the Adirondack (G2) and the Spinaway (G1) stakes at Saratoga Race Course and finished second to her each time.
The Frank Fletcher Racing Operations-owned filly had a troubled trip in the Adirondack, but in the Spinaway, she surged to the front at the top of the stretch in the seven-furlong stakes only to have the Mark Casse-trained filly scoot past her along the rail and beat her by 1 1/4 lengths.
"As much as I thought she ran well both times, she should have won the previous race in the Adirondack," Mott said. "She got bumped around and potentially could have won that race."
Video: Spinaway S. (G1)
Now, with Perfect Alibi running Oct. 4 in the Darley Alciabides Stakes (G1) at Keeneland, the homebred Frank's Rockette is the only one of the seven expected starters with experience in a graded stakes.
Yet what stands out to Mott is the experience the Kentucky-bred daughter of the Indian Charlie mare Rocket Twentyone will get at Sunday's one-mile distance, which ultimately will determine future plans.
"It's a little bit of an experiment going a mile. We got beat going seven-eighths the last time and she acts in the morning like she'll get a mile but we'll test her one time at the distance to see how she does," the Hall of Fame trainer said. "(Perfect Alibi) is a good one and in the Spinaway at the end, our filly was empty and she was still coming."
More than just a test, the Frizette offers a pricey bonus as the grade 1 stakes is part of the Breeders' Cup Challenge series and will award the winner an all-fees paid spot in the Nov. 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) at Santa Anita Park. Last year, Jaywalk won both the Frizette and the BC Juvenile Fillies en route to the Eclipse Award as champion 2-year-old filly.
Video: Frizette S. (G1)
"We'd have to talk about it, but if she should be able to win, I suppose we'd be pretty excited and we'd have to think about (the Breeders' Cup) for sure," Mott said.
Frank's Rockette will switch riders to John Velazquez in the Frizette and will break from post seven.
If trainer Danny Gargan has it right, the mile distance might be a tad short for Ice Princess, who is out of a Belmont Stakes (G1) winner by a mare sired by a Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) victor.
"I don't know if the mile is enough for her," Gargan said. "She'll run all day. The more distance, the better for her."
Owned by Flying P Stable, R.A Hill Stable and Corms Racing Stable, Ice Princess romped by 12 lengths in her only start, a 1 1/16-mile maiden race for New York-breds Sept. 6 at Belmont—a race moved from the turf to the sloppy main track.
Bred by Mina Eqivest, Ice Princess is by Palace Malice out of the Awesome Again mare Happy Clapper. She sold for $75,000 at the 2018 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Preferred New York-Bred Yearling Sale from the Summerfield consignment.
Ice Princess is one of four unbeaten Frizette starters, a list that includes the lone 2-for-2 entrant, Quality Response. Trained by Bob Baffert, the daughter of Quality Road was last seen Sept. 19 in California winning the Phone Chatter Stakes at Los Alamitos Race Course by 5 1/2 lengths after taking her Sept. 1 debut by 7 1/4 lengths at Del Mar.
The Frizette will mark the first try beyond 6 1/2 furlongs for the filly owned by Karl Watson, Mike Pegram and Paul Weitman. Out of the Storm Cat mare Argue, she was bought for $200,000 from the consignment of her breeder, Stone Farm, at the 2018 Keeneland September Yearling Sale.
"She's run two good races and she's coming back a little quicker than I'd like to, but she seemed to bounce back and worked nice. We're taking a shot in the Frizette in the one-turn mile. We'll see how she fits in with those horses there," Baffert said. "She's a really well-bred filly. She doesn't use up her energy. You can place her anywhere you want her. She has speed. I'm really excited about her. She ships well and has a really good mind on her."
Joe Talamo, who was aboard for both starts, is shipping in from California to ride the filly who will break from post one.
The field also includes Saratoga debut winners that sold for $500,000 or more in Daphne Moon, trained by Jeremiah Englehart, and Wicked Whisper, trained by Steve Asmussen.
Daphne Moon, a daughter of Cairo Prince owned by Gold Square and Double O Racing, posted a 3 1/4-length victory in her Aug. 4 debut.
Bred by Mr. and Mrs. Nick Bentley out of the Street Sense mare Crozat, she was purchased for $525,000 from the Eddie Woods consignment at the OBS April Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training. Prior to that, she went to Marc Tacher for $182,000 from the Warrendale Sales consignment at the 2018 Keeneland September Sale.
Alex and JoAnn Lieblong's Liam's Map filly Wicked Whisper cruised to a front-running 6 1/4-length debut win Aug. 25. Bred by Siena Farm out of the Bernardini mare Zayanna, she went for a winning bid of $500,000 from the Taylor Made Sales Agency consignment at the 2018 Keeneland September Sale.
The Frizette will be the ninth race with post time scheduled for 5:20 p.m. The 10-race card with three graded stakes begins at 12:45 p.m. and can be seen on Fox Sports 2 (FS2) from 2-5:30 p.m. and on MSG Networks from 4-6 p.m.
Belmont Park, Sunday, October 06, 2019, Race 9Entries: Frizette S. (G1)
PP
Horse
Jockey
Wgt
Trainer
M/L
1
1Quality Response (KY)
Joseph Talamo
120
Bob Baffert
7/2
2
2Daphne Moon (KY)
Irad Ortiz, Jr.
120
Jeremiah C. Englehart
9/2
3
3Wicked Whisper (KY)
Joel Rosario
120
Steven M. Asmussen
2/1
4
4Slam Dunk (KY)
Kendrick Carmouche
120
Rodolphe Brisset
12/1
5
5Ice Princess (NY)
Manuel Franco
120
Danny Gargan
15/1
6
6Miss Marissa (KY)
Dylan Davis
120
James T. Ryerson
8/1
7
7Frank's Rockette (KY)
John R. Velazquez
120
William I. Mott
5/2
