Weemissfrankie a Wee Bit Different

Weemissfrankie remained undefeated and notched her second Grade 1 win in the Oak Leaf Stakes on Sunday, October 2.  The post time favorite sat in fifth place behind a moderate pace until given her head at the quarter pole. Swinging wide at the top of the stretch, Weemissfrankie flew through the lane to beat Candrea by ½ length.  Weemissfrankie gave notice of her ability in her very first start on July 20, when she set a new track record for five furlongs in :58.39 over the Del Mar Polytrack. Jumping immediately into graded stakes company, the Peter Eurton trainee won the seven furlong Del Mar Debutante (G-1) by 1 ¼ lengths over Self Preservation.  
WEEMISSFRANKIE  (Sunriver - Starinthemeadow, by Meadowlake) is by  first crop sire Sunriver.    Sunriver won the Peter Pan Stakes (G-2) and finished third in the Belmont Stakes (G-1). However, the full brother to two-time Champion mare Ashado had an indifferent race record over the dirt overall.  As four year old, Sunriver  found his calling on the lawn.  The son of Saint Ballado  was victorious in the Bowling Green Handicap (G-2). He was second, beaten by a bare head in the Man O’War (G-1) and in his final start, Sunriver captured his sole Grade 1 victory in the 1 ½ mile Hollywood Turf Cup, leading all the way to win by 2 ¾ lengths.
Retired to stud after his Hollywood Turf Cup victory, Sunriver proved popular with New York breeders, getting 150 foals in his first two crops. Unfortunately, Sunriver died suddenly at the young age of six after producing his second crop.  He currently has 67 foals of racing age, seven starters, two winners.  His foals won’t be especially precocious and most should be best going a mile or farther over all surfaces. 
The loss of Sunriver is a blow to American racing.  The majority of modern American Thoroughbreds carry inbreeding to Northern Dancer, Mr. Prospector and Bold Ruler.  Sunriver is by 2005 leading sire Saint Ballado and traces back to Hail to Reason through the two-time leading sire Halo. Sunriver carried only one strain of Northern Dancer blood and none of Bold Ruler or Mr. Prospector, making him an outcross for mares imbued with these bloodlines. 
Like her sire, Weemissfrankie carries a sole strain of Northern Dancer.  Her damsire Meadowlake, a descendant of Princequillo, was a brilliant bur fragile youngster. He was undefeated in three starts and won the Arlington Washington Futurity by nine lengths.  At stud, he was a popular sire and is currently one of the top 50 leading broodmare sires.  Among the stakes winners produced by his daughters are multiple G-1 wining sire Henny Hughes Go For Wand (G-1) heroine Seventh Street. The Saint Ballado/Meadowlake cross has produced Indiana Derby winner and new sire Star Dabbler and his full brother, listed stakes winner Run Production.  The Halo/Meadowlake bloodline cross gave us Japanese Group 1 winner Real Impact (Sunday Silence/Meadowlake) and Grade 3 sprinter Custom For Carlos (More Than Ready/Meadowlake).
Weemissfrankie’s distaff line is less than stellar. Her half-sister No Wonder (by Three Wonders) is stakes placed and their dam Starinthemeadow is unraced. Most of Starinthemeadow’s half-siblings are hardy runners in the claiming ranks. However, her half-sister Program Pick (by Peterhof) won two listed stakes as a juvenile. Program Pick’s daughter Stormy Pick (by Storm Creek) was victorious in the Spinaway (G-1) and Sorority Stakes at two. Her second and third dams placed in restricted stakes.
Delving back more than a few generations in a pedigree isn’t usually productive for determining a horse’s class, best distance and surface. The general rule in pedigree handicapping is the closer the ancestor, the greater the influence. However, Weemissfrankie has a fairly unique pedigree that is worth closer inspection.
Despite Weemissfrankie’s blue collar origins, she carries inbreeding to three blue hens. Although we must go back to the seventh generation to find all of the notable inbreeding, it is a significant factor in Weemissfrankie’s pedigree and lends itself to her racing class.  Weemissfrankie has a popular inbreeding to Almahmoud through her daughters Cosmah and Natalma on her sire’s side. She also carries crossbreeding (inbred on her sire and dam’s side) to Nothirdchance, the dam of Hail To Reason, who is the third sire of Sunriver. Nothirdchance is also the third dam of Meadowlake. Going back one generation, Weemissfrankie has inbreeding to the blue hen Banish Fear, the dam of the sire Cosmic Bomb, who is the sire of Cosmah. Not Afraid is also the dam of Not Afraid, who produced Prince John, third sire of Meadowlake. (see pedigree chart).
Weemissfrankie carries stamina over speed in her bloodlines. Physically, she is an average-sized, well-balanced filly. Her gait is smooth with good extension and no wasted movement. Weemissfrankie likes to race mid-pack and this running style will be useful should she try longer distances. She’s already proven successful at 1 1/16 miles and considering all of the factors above, should handle 1 1/8 miles with maturity.  Wemissfrankie will head to the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies in her next start as California’s best hope to win the trophy. Although anything can happen in a horse race, Weemissfrankie should be competitive and give a good account of herself in the race.  

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