Oleksandra uses late burst to win Franklin County Stakes; Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint a possibility

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Oleksandra won the Franklin County Stakes in such rousing fashion Friday at Keeneland that her ownership partners in Team Valor International now face a difficult decision in regard to whether to run the mare back in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint.

“If you look at it from an intellectual point of view, the answer would be ‘no,’ ” Team Valor president Barry Irwin said after Oleksandra blew past the other two favorites in the 23rd running of the Grade 3, $150,000 Franklin County. “But when emotion gets involved, and a horse wins like this, anything is possible.”

As an Australian-bred 5-year-old mare, Oleksandra is not a Breeders’ Cup nominee, so a $100,000 supplement would be required to run her back in the $1 million BC Turf Sprint on Nov. 2 at Santa Anita. She scarcely could have been more impressive in victory when rallying between the fading front-runner, Girls Know Best, and the pace-pressing Morticia en route to a two-length score.

:: BREEDERS’ CUP 2019: See DRF’s special section with top contenders, odds, comments, and more

The top three finishers all were sent away at 5-2 odds in a field of 10 fillies and mares, with Oleksandra returning $7 as a slight favorite after finishing the 5 1/2-furlong distance in 1:01.79.

Before an ontrack crowd of 19,026, and under cloudy skies, Girls Know Best was clear shortly after the break and had full command approaching the furlong pole. From there, however, Morticia began to get the best of her, and then Oleksandra came bursting through them both to win going away.

“She relaxed, then she came with a big run,” said winning rider Joel Rosario. “She gave me a tremendous turn of foot.”

Morticia got second by a neck over Girls Know Best, pushing the 5-year-old mare past the $1 million earnings mark in what most likely was her final career start. A Little Bit Me was another 1 1/4 lengths back in fourth.

Oleksandra now has won 6 of 13 career starts. Trained by Hall of Fame conditioner Neil Drysdale, she has raced 10 times in the U.S, winning six of those, with the Smart n Fancy at Saratoga in August being her most notable prior score.

This was a milestone win for Team Valor. Not only was it their 100th in a graded stakes for the partnership founded by Irwin and Jeff Siegel in the 1980s, but Oleksandra was sired by the dual-hemisphere stallion Animal Kingdom, who won the 2011 Kentucky Derby under the familiar Team Valor green and red silks.

“This was awesome,” said a beaming Irwin.

An oversubscribed field of 16 entries was reduced by six scratches, including Hotshot Anna and Rocky Policy, who will face each other here Sunday in a high-end allowance.

The $2 exacta (2-3) paid $23.40, the $1 trifecta (2-3-11) returned $36.80, and the 10-cent superfecta (2-3-11-8) was worth $14.30.