Franny Freud trounces males by six

ELMONT, N.Y. - In what amounted to little more than a public workout, the filly Franny Freud cruised to a six-length victory over five males in Wednesday's $100,000 New York Stallion Stakes at Belmont Park.

The New York Stallion Stakes was opened up to both sexes after gender-restricted races failed to fill with enough entries to be carded for Sunday. Though 10 were entered for Wednesday's seven-furlong race on turf, the field scratched down to six, in part because of the presence of Franny Freud, a Grade 2 winner.

Though she had never before run on the grass, Franny Freud put in a workout on the turf on May 16 that had her connections thinking she would relish the surface.

"What we saw when Simon [Harris] worked her on the turf a week ago Sunday, it was something so we expected her to really run well," trainer John Terranova said. "She's just a special filly."

Under Garrett Gomez, Franny Freud broke alertly and easily cleared the field. She carved out fractions of 23.37 seconds, 46.00, and 1:09.25 and covered seven furlongs in 1:21.47. She returned $2.50 as the 1-4 favorite.

Leatherhead got second by one length over Make Note.

Franny Freud has now won 7 of 10 races and increased her bankroll to $536,029 for owners Paul Pompa Jr., Stephen Yarbrough, and Winter Park Partners. She has won stakes on turf, dirt, and synthetic. She will make her next start in the Grade 1 Prioress, a six-furlong dirt race restricted to 3-year-old fillies on July 4.

"It's a Grade 1," Terranova said. "Her next stop will be a Grade 1; she's a Grade 1 filly."