Frank's Rockette expected to bring on the night in Winning Colors
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Breeders’ Cup aside, Frank’s Rockette has done precious little wrong over the last couple of years. The Frank Fletcher homebred has been first or second a dozen times, with the only blemish in her 13-race career coming when she was 11th versus male rivals last fall in the BC Sprint at Keeneland.
Fletcher and Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott seem to have found another ideal spot for Frank’s Rockette, and Churchill Downs bettors surely will be relying heavily on the 4-year-old filly to be part of their exactas again. With Florent Geroux riding from post 2, Frank’s Rockette will be a heavy favorite in the Grade 3, $150,000 Winning Colors, the highlight of an 11-race Saturday night card at Churchill.
First post is 6 p.m. Eastern, with the six-furlong Winning Colors being carded earlier than it might have been otherwise because of a short field. No more than five other fillies and mares will line up against Frank’s Rockette in race 5, which will be run as daylight starts fading to black. The latter races, most notably a second filly-mare stakes – the $110,000 Keertana going 1 1/2 miles on turf – will be run under the lights first used here in 2009.
It was at Churchill on June 21, 2019, that Frank’s Rockette served immediate notice that she could be a standout. Saddled by Mott’s longtime assistant, Kenny McCarthy, she won that five-furlong debut by 8 3/4 lengths and was assimilated shortly thereafter into Mott’s main string in New York for the rest of her 2-year-old season. The bay daughter of the red-hot Into Mischief then was second in three straight graded stakes in New York – the Adirondack and Spinaway at Saratoga and the Frizette at Belmont Park.
:: Get Daily Racing Form Past Performances - the exclusive home of Beyer Speed Figures
Mott withheld Frank’s Rockette from the BC Juvenile Fillies at Santa Anita mostly because of the two-turn distance, instead focusing on maximizing her potential as a sprinter. It worked. Last year at 3, the filly won 5 of 6 before simply being outfooted by the top older sprinters in the world in the BC Sprint on Nov. 7, finishing 8 1/4 lengths behind the victorious Whitmore.
Stabled in Florida over the winter, Frank’s Rockette was sent twice to Oaklawn Park, winning the Jan. 30 American Beauty and finishing second in the April 10 Carousel, both with Geroux aboard. She then rejoined McCarthy at Churchill, where she has been sent through four timed works since her last start.
Mott said from New York the decision to aim at the Winning Colors was made partly because of how well the filly has run here; besides her debut, she also was an easy winner of an allowance here last May.
“She’s shown a real affinity for the track,” he said.
With little other speed besides Rising Seas (post 1, Corey Lanerie) opposing her, Frank’s Rockette should be prominent from the opening bell. Down the lane, she’ll likely be asked to hold off Sconsin (post 4, Tyler Gaffalione), a Grade 2 winner in the third start of her form cycle for trainer Greg Foley.
Rounding out the lineup are Tipsy Gal, Bayerness, and Headland.
The Saturday forecast calls for a daytime high of 90. Ontrack admission is $12. This is the second of three night cards at the 38-day spring meet, with one more set for June 12.
◗ Mott and Geroux also have a major player in Delta’s Kingdom in the Keertana (race 9, 10:11), which, unlike the Winning Colors, lacks a clear-cut favorite in a field of 10. Delta’s Kingdom rallied boldly last month at Keeneland before settling for second behind stablemate War Like Goddess in the Grade 3 Bewitch, a turf marathon that also produced Keertana contenders Pass the Plate (third) and Dalika (fifth).
Delta’s Kingdom is still eligible for a second-level allowance condition but has amassed a bankroll of nearly $300,000 when continuing to fare respectably even in stakes company. The 5-year-old mare seeks to snap a 10-race losing streak dating to September 2019.
Temple City Terror has won 2 of 3 over the local course and figures among the fringe players in here, even being untested at this longer distance.
