It Could Be Big Payday for Frankel

Already the country’s leading trainer in purse earnings, Bobby Frankel has a chance to hit a personal lottery this afternoon in Illinois, New York, and to a lesser extent, California.

Frankel, who could be headed to his third consecutive Eclipse Award as the nation’s top trainer, has entrants in six graded stakes worth a combined $3.3 million.

At Arlington Park in suburban Chicago, Frankel will be represented by favorite Beat Hollow in the Arlington Million and by contenders Tates Creek in the $700,000 Beverly D. Stakes and Chiselling in the $400,000 Secretariat.

Meanwhile, You will seek another Grade I win in the $750,000 Alabama Stakes after El Gran Papa tries for a minor upset in the $300,000 Breeders’ Cup Handicap at Saratoga in upstate New York.

Completing what Frankel hopes will be a lucrative day is Inesperado, who will aim for his second victory in as many U.S. starts in the $150,000 La Jolla Handicap at Del Mar.

Without question, Beat Hollow is the hall-of-fame trainer’s best shot at success. The 5-year-old Sadler’s Wells horse is the best turf horse in the country and only bad luck has kept him from being perfect in five races in the States.

Owned and bred by Prince Khalid Abdullah’s Juddmonte Farms, Beat Hollow was particularly cursed in the Eddie Read Handicap on July 28 at Del Mar. He was trapped along the inside for most of the 1 1/8 miles, and by the time he was able to get free, it was too late. Sarafan, who was given a perfect ride by jockey Corey Nakatani, got the jump on the 1-2 favorite and went on to beat him by 1 1/4 lengths. Sarafan is back in the Million, along with Forbidden Apple, Cheshire, Paolini, Mystery Giver and Ulundi.

The defeat cost Alex Solis, who had ridden Beat Hollow exclusively, the mount for the Million, which is run at 1 1/4 miles on the turf.

According to Frankel, Solis was removed in favor of Jerry Bailey at the request of the owner. Bailey, the country’s leading jockey almost annually, won the Million for Juddmonte and Frankel on Chester House two years ago.

Juddmonte, Frankel and Bailey also will team in the Beverly D., which goes at 1 3/16 miles on the turf, with the hard-trying Tates Creek. A 4-year-old Rahy filly making her first appearance in a Grade I, she has won six of nine, but this will be the toughest field she has seen.

The three main contenders in the Beverly D. are Astra, who has won three in a row for trainer Laura De Seroux; defending champion England’s Legend, and Golden Apples, who will have a new rider in Patrick Valenzuela. Astra will try to make amends for her last-place finish as the 7-10 favorite in last year’s race.

Bailey also has Orchard Park, the horse to fear most in the Secretariat, a 1 1/4-mile turf race.

Owned by Peter Vegso and trained by Bill Mott, the 3-year-old Hennessy colt has won six of eight on the grass.

Chiselling, a half brother to Chester House, as well as Decarchy and Honest Lady, will be ridden by Kent Desormeaux as he tries for his second consecutive stakes victory. He was a nose winner of the Lexington last month at Belmont Park.

A private purchase by Frankel for owner Ed Gann in the summer of 2001, You has been a money machine. She has won five Grade I stakes and is perfect in two starts at Saratoga.

However, the Alabama comes only three weeks after her gut-wrenching nose victory over Carson Hollow in a memorable Test Stakes and she is very suspect at 1 1/4 miles.

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The condition of Sunday Silence, the 1989 Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Breeders’ Cup Classic winner, continues to deteriorate at his stable in Japan, and a decision is expected soon on whether to euthanize the 16-year-old horse.

Sunday Silence is battling laminitis, a severe and painful hoof problem.