Free as a Bird Soars in Buffalo Trace Franklin County

Elizabeth Valando’s Free as a Bird rocketed past pace-setting Richies Sweetheart at the sixteenth pole and held off a late bid from favored Ageless to win the 18th running of the $100,000 Buffalo Trace Franklin County for fillies and mares by 1 1/2 lengths before a Friday afternoon crowd of 14,895 on College Scholarship Day.

 

Trained by Ian Wilkes and ridden by Joel Rosario, Free as Bird covered the 

5 1/2 furlongs on a yielding turf course in 1:03.60 in recording her fifth consecutive stakes victory. The victory gave Wilkes his initial Keeneland stakes triumph.

 

Richies Sweetheart led the field of 12 through opening fractions of :21.55 and :45.10 while Rosario had Free as a Bird running in the clear in fifth. Rosario swung Free as a Bird five wide at the top of the stretch and the 5-year-old mare had clear sailing to the wire.

 

Free as a Bird is a Kentucky-bred daughter of Hard Spun out of the Fly So Free mare Take the Cake. She boosted her bankroll to $503,208 with Friday’s $60,000 check and improved her record to 21-8-4-5.

 

Free as a Bird returned $7.20, $3.40 and $3. Ageless, ridden by Julien Leparoux, returned $3.40 and $3 and finished a length in front of Sweet Cassiopeia, who paid $6.40 to show under Joe Rocco Jr.

 

Sky Treasure finished fourth and was followed in order by Richies Sweetheart, Eden Prairie, Vuitton, Quay, Flower Spell, Macaroon, In a Jif and Quality Lass.

 

The $500,000 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup Presented by Lane’s End (G1) headlines a 10-race program when racing continues Saturday at 1:05 p.m. ET. The QE II will go as the ninth race with a 5:13 post time.