Mrs. Astor Prevails By A Nose In Grade III, $100,000 Robert J. Frankel Stakes

MRS. ASTOR PREVAILS BY A NOSE IN GRADE III, $100,000 ROBERT J. FRANKEL STAKES GOING 1 1/8 MILES ON TURF FRIDAY AT SANTA ANITA

ARCADIA, CA (Dec. 27, 2024)—Mrs. Astor made it back-to-back graded stakes wins Friday when prevailing by a nose in the Grade III, $100,000 Robert J. Frankel Stakes going 1 1/8 miles on turf at Santa Anita.

The less fancied of two entrants trained by Jonathan Thomas, Mrs. Astor (5-1) rallied from mid-pack to narrowly edge 11-1 longshot Mahina in a photo finish. Stablemate Mouffy, the 3-1 second choice, and 3-5 favorite Hang the Moon both finished off the board in a six-horse field. Mrs. Astor entered the Frankel following a win in the GIII Red Carpet going 1 3/8 miles at Del Mar Nov. 24, which was her first career stakes win.

“We kind of hemmed and hawed at the cut back in distance, but she’d run effectively at this trip,” Thomas said. “We thought with the right trip she could handle it.”

Omaha Girl, the longest shot on the board at 14-1, was able to a moderate pace of 24.65, 49.29 and 1:13.56 for six furlongs as Mrs. Astor settled in mid-pack. Mrs. Astor began to cut into the lead on the second turn and then surged late under Dettori to win by the narrowest of margins.

“With the opening quarter and the horse on the front getting a very comfortable lead, I was worried,” Thomas said. “But Frankie did a very good job getting her rolling early.”

Dettori had previously ridden Mrs. Astor four starts back at Aqueduct in a 1 1/8-mile allowance race in July. They finished second that day.

“We were all worried about the speed, but I stayed on the wheels of the favorite (Hang the Moon), and I knew my filly would stay well,” Dettori said. “I slungshot her off the bend and she did the rest. I could have done with more pace, but she’s very honest and in real good form. It’s those kinds of horses you want to be on.”

Mahina, ridden by Flavien Prat for trainer Patrick Gallagher, finished a half-length ahead of third-place finisher Yerwanthere (9-1), also trained by Gallagher.

Mrs. Astor is a homebred for George Strawbridge’s Augustin Stable. A 4-year-old Lookin at Lucky filly, she improved to 16: 4-4-3 with $355,235 in earnings.

Mrs. Astor paid $13.00, $5.60 and $4.20. Mahina returned $8.60 and $4.60. Yerwanthere, ridden by Umberto Rispoli, paid $4.40.

Live racing returns to Santa Anita Saturday with a 10-race card starting at 11:30 a.m. PT.