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No denying Weemissfrankie late in Oak Leaf triumph

Posted: Sunday, October 02, 2011 9:20 PM

WEEMISSFRANKIE

Benoit & Associates photo

To view the Oak Leaf Stakes, click here.

by Mike Curry

Weemissfrankie unfurled one final surge in the closing strides of the $250,000 Oak Leaf Stakes (G1) on Sunday at Santa Anita Park to overhaul Candrea and Charm the Maker and keep her unblemished record intact.

The Del Mar Dubutante Stakes (G1) winner looked beaten at the sixteenth pole, but she extended her stride late and pushed past her challengers with a determined late rally for a half-length win as the 9-to-5 favorite. The filly from the first crop of Grade 1 winner Sunriver, who died in August 2009, completed the 1 1/16-mile race in 1:42.92 on a track rated as fast for trainer Peter Eurton.

“You don’t know how they’re going to run from synthetic to dirt until they do it,” Eurton said of Weemissfrankie first race on ditrt. “She loves synthetic [surface] at Hollywood [Park], she loves synthetic at Del Mar; did she like this as much? I don’t know. She didn’t like the dirt hitting her in the face down the backside, [jockey Rafael Bejarano] told me. He just had to get her away from the outside and give her a chance to free-run.”

Bejarano positioned Weemissfrankie in fifth early as Self Preservation set the pace through a half-mile in :46.96. Candrea and Charm the Giant moved up to challenge for the lead on the far turn and battled in early stretch before Weemissfrankie put them both away late for her third win in as many starts.

“She was kind of uncomfortable down in the stretch the first time, so I tried to keep her clear after the first turn and get her in good position,” Bejarano said. “After I found my position I tried to cover a little bit and get her relaxed. When I got to the top of the stretch I put her clear, and like always, she showed me a big kick in the stretch.”

With the victory, Weemissfrankie earned an automatic starting berth in the Grey Goose Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) via the “Win and You’re In” challenge series.

“She’s still going to go dirt [in the Juvenile Fillies], but [Juvenile Fillies] Turf (G2) is something to think about,” Eurton said. “It’s still a consideration, especially when you figure out who’s going and who’s not, but it’s probably going to be dirt.  … You have options. That’s the beauty part about it.”

Weemissfrankie is named after Frank Alesia, the actor and director who died earlier this year. The winning ownership group includes Alesia’s wife, Sharon, professional skateboarder and MTV star Rob Dyrdek, Mike Mellen’s Bran Jam Stable, Joe Ciaglia’s Ciaglia Stable, and Nick Cosato.

Bred in New York by Hidden Point Farm, Weemissfrankie is out of the Meadowlake mare Starinthemeadow.

For an Equibase chart, click here.