Sunday, July 4, 2010
FRANNY FREUD GETS FIRST GRADE 1 SCORE IN PRIORESS
By Ashley Herriman
ELMONT, N.Y. – Franny Freud kept her winning streak intact and picked up her first Grade 1 victory in the 63rd running of the $250,000 Prioress Sunday afternoon at Belmont Park.
As Stormandaprayer led the field through blistering early fractions of 21.85 and 44.97, closely pursued by
Her final time for the six furlongs was 1:10.11.
"She's just all horse," said winning jockey Garrett Gomez. "She's a little bitty thing, but she gives 120 percent. As for how far she'll go, she just keeps answering questions for everybody, including her fans."
It was the fourth consecutive win for the New York-bred daughter of Freud, who is owned by Paul Pompa, Jr., Stephen Yarbrough, and Winter Park Partners. She has now earned $686,029 with a record of 8-2-0 from 11 lifetime starts.
For trainer John Terranova, today's victory was a major milestone for a filly he has always considered to be quite gifted.
"I'm very happy for her; I'm very happy for everyone," said Terranova. "We didn't know how fast the early fractions were going to be. Of course, there was a lot of speed in the race, but she's fast and Garrett just kind of let her settle into her spot. It looked like she was just waiting to pounce. I know how good she is and I'm glad she got the Grade 1 under her belt, because she deserves it."
Sent off as the 3-5 favorite in the field of five 3-year-old fillies, Franny Freud returned $3.40 to her backers in the Independence Day crowd of 5,019.
The connections of runner-up Champagne d'Oro, winner of last month's Grade 1, one-mile Betfair TVG Acorn, were happy with their filly's performance.
"I thought she ran great," said Richard Baltas, assistant to trainer Eric Guillot. "She just didn't have the trip. She got behind horses and got in a little trouble, but it wasn't bad. Take nothing against the winner – she's a good horse. I was a little worried shortening back up to six furlongs, but she was ready and was doing great all week. We're happy."
Bonnie Blue Flag was third and longshots Stormandaprayer and Funny Feeling completed the order of finish.
Terranova, who had marked the Prioress as a goal for Franny Freud, said he would now look ahead to the Grade 1, $250,000 Test on August 7 at Saratoga Race Course.
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