Public Purse Helps Frankel Close Out October in Style

Nobody was sorrier to see October end than Bobby Frankel.

The Hall of Fame trainer made it six stakes wins for the month when favored Public Purse captured the $150,000 Carleton F. Burke Handicap on Sunday at Santa Anita.

Making his United States debut for Juddmonte Farms, the 5-year-old son of Private Account beat 4-1 shot Star Performance, also trained by Frankel, by 1 1/2 lengths and covered the 1 1/2 miles on turf in 2:25 4/5 under jockey Alex Solis. He paid $4.80 as the favorite.

Third most of the way while Yagthan set the pace, Public Purse, who has won six of 11 races, swung to the outside entering the lane and was never seriously threatened once he made the lead with a little more than a furlong to run.

“I’ve only had him here for about a week and he’s shown he handles the firm going,” Frankel said. “This is really a nice horse and he’ll probably go on to the Hollywood Turf Cup [Dec. 4]. He’s as good as any horse I’ve seen right now going 1 1/2 miles.

“He and Chester House are the best classic distance horses [Juddmonte Farms] have sent me this year and those kind seem to do really well here. Maybe the division is weak, maybe I train them well, I don’t know. But this is really a nice horse.”

Star Performance finished 1 1/2 lengths in front of Achilles, then came Ward Hunt, War Declaration, Game Play, Yagthan and Montjoy.

Horse Racing Notes

Apprentice jockey Tyler Baze, 17, scored his first career win when Fleeting Wonder won Sunday’s second race. Baze is a cousin of Hall of Fame jockey Russell Baze and a nephew of former jockey Gary Baze. . . . There will be no racing on Wednesday and the final five days of the Oak Tree meet will begin on Thursday. Santa Anita will be on open on Wednesday for simulcast wagering on 52 races from Calder, Churchill Downs, Suffolk Downs, Hawthorne, Turf Paradise and Woodbine.