ARCADIA, Calif. (Dec. 26, 2013)–Trainer Tom Proctor and Glen Hill Farm will send out a pair of talented 4-year-old fillies, Customer Base and Gulsary, in Sunday’s Grade III, $100,000 Robert J. Frankel Stakes at 1 1/8 miles on turf, which has attracted a wide-open field of nine fillies and mares.
Multiple graded stakes-placed Customer Base comes off a sharp third place finish in Santa Anita’s Grade II, one mile turf Goldikova Stakes Nov. 3 and will be ridden by Mike Smith, who guided her to victory five starts back in the Lucie Manet Stakes at Hollywood Park July 5.
A Kentucky-bred filly by Lemon Drop Kid, Customer Base rallied from far off the pace in the Goldikova and was beaten 1 ΒΌ lengths under Gary Stevens, who will ride Gulsary in the Frankel. Customer Base has two seconds and a third from three tries over the Santa Anita lawn and has an overall mark of 17-4-3-2 with earnings of $262,182.
Irish-bred Gulsary will be making her fourth stateside start in the Frankel and she comes off a close third place finish in a 1 1/16 miles turf allowance at Hollywood Park Dec. 5. Ridden by Stevens in her first two starts in Southern California, she was an impressive second condition allowance winner as the 9-5 favorite two starts back going one mile on turf at Santa Anita.
Trainer John Sadler will send out English-bred Moone’s My Name, who was an impressive gate to wire classified allowance winner going 1 1/16 miles on the Hollywood Park turf Dec. 5. A 5-year-old mare, Moone’s My Name will be ridden for the first time by Rafael Bejarano on Sunday. Owned by the Batchelor Family Trust, Moone’s My Name will be making her fourth start of the year in the Frankel. Her overall mark stands at 20-7-3-5 and she has earnings of $148,933.
Corey Nakatani will have the outside post to contend with as he’ll ride Irish-bred Appealing for the first time. A non-threatening fifth in the Goldikova Nov. 3, Appealing was second, beaten a head, in the Grade II, 1 1/16 miles turf Yellow Ribbon Handicap at Del Mar Sept. 2.
Trained by Paddy Gallagher, Appealing has two wins, one second and a third from seven starts this year and will be trying 1 1/8 miles on turf for the first time.
Daniel O’Neill’s Becky Lou is one of two 3-year-old fillies in the Frankel and she comes off a solid classified allowance win going a mile on turf Nov. 24. Based in England as a 2-year-old, Becky Lou won her U.S. debut at Santa Anita going a mile on turf on April 18, her only try on the Santa Anita lawn.
In her only other career try at 1 1/8 miles on grass, Becky Lou was fourth, beaten two lengths in the Grade II Honeymoon Handicap on June 8. Trained by Matt Chew, Becky Lou will be ridden back by Julien Couton.
The complete field for the Robert J. Frankel Stakes, to be run as the eighth race on a nine-race program Sunday with jockeys and weights in post position order: Becky Lou, Julien Couton, 116; Playful Humor, Martin Garcia, 119; Moone’s My Name, Rafael Bejarano, 119; Gulsary, Gary Stevens, 119; Stormy Lucy, Isaias Enriquez, 119; Champagneandcaviar, Chantal Kruse-Sutherland, 119; Customer Base, Mike Smith, 119; Nickels Wild, Joe Talamo, 119, and Appealing, Corey Nakatani, 119.
