Weemissfrankie a possibility for Hollywood Starlet

Barbara D. Livingston

Weemissfrankie, third in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies, may make one more start this year in the Dec. 10 Hollywood Starlet.

Weemissfrankie, third in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies at Churchill Downs on Friday, may start again this year, and has the Kentucky Oaks at Churchill on May 4 as a long-term goal, trainer Peter Eurton said on Sunday.

Weemissfrankie was beaten nine lengths by My Miss Aurelia in the Juvenile Fillies, the first loss of her four-race career. Earlier this year, Weemissfrankie won a maiden race and two Grade 1 races – the Del Mar Debutante and Oak Leaf Stakes at Santa Anita

Eurton said that Weemissfrankie could return for the $250,000 Hollywood Starlet Stakes over 1 1/16 miles at Hollywood Park on Dec. 10, or be rested for the 3-year-old fillies stakes at the Santa Anita winter-spring meeting.

“We’ll map out a plan,” Eurton said. “The whole idea is to think of next year’s [Kentucky] Oaks. The Breeders’ Cup was our goal after the [Del Mar] Debutante. We have to pick and choose our spots.

“She’s getting her winter coat and I need to get some weight back on her.”

Regarding the Starlet, Eurton said, “Anything is possible. The fact we’re talking about it is a good thing. She came out of the race good.”

In the Juvenile Fillies, Weemissfrankie closed from fifth with a wide trip. She was third at the eighth pole, but could not catch My Miss Aurelia, who won by three lengths over Grace Hall, who was six lengths clear of Weemissfrankie.

“It wasn’t her best surface, that mud,” Eurton said. “I think she gutted out a third. I think she’s the kind of mare that will try. You can’t take anything away from the winner. She’s a freak. It was her day.”

A rematch is possible in the near future. Trainer Steve Asmussen indicated over the weekend that My Miss Aurelia will be part of his California division this winter.