Aug 14, 2010

MINDING THE STORE

Sharp Secretary continues to shine among Woodbine's 3-year-old fillies. She smartly scampered away from a good field to annex the $150,000 Duchess stakes on August 7.

Several television commentators have noted that she was bought for only $1,100.
True enough. But we paid out $25,000 last spring to acquire her as a 2-year-old.
She has made everybody look good.

Highly regarded juvenile Western Mood regressed in the Best Pal stakes at Del Mar, finishing third.

JUDDMONTE HONORS FRANKEL

Prince Khalid of Juddmonte Farm evidently picked out a good one to honor his longtime trainer, Bobby Frankel. The Galileo colt he named Frankel won decisively on the weekend at Newmarket.

Please excuse us if we throw out a couple more Frankel tales.

One concerns a horse named Mehmet, one of Bobby's first good stakes-winners to go to stud. When it came time to dole out a breeding right or a syndicate share as promised, Bobby hit the roof. He said that would never happen to him again and he included a clause in future training agreements granting him such perquisites.

One of those future stakes-winners was Missionary Ridge who won the inaugural Pacific Classic at Del Mar after being purchased from Robert Sangster by Canadian Peter Wall.

When Wall first signed on with Bobby he was told how he could expect to know when they would be running.

"You have lots of money," he said. "Buy a racing form".