Bank Frenzy skips to the win in the Stymie (Chelsea Durand)
Lynne Snierson/NYRA Press Office
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – LSU Stables’ New York-bred Bank Frenzy overcame trouble at the break and then drew off down the lane under Manny Franco to secure his first open-company stakes win in Saturday’s Listed $150,000 Stymie, at Aqueduct Racetrack.
Bank Frenzy, a dual state-bred stakes winner trained by Rudy Rodriguez, was returning from a respite of nine weeks after taking the Alex M. Robb at one-mile in his last outing here on December 28. The layoff proved to be to his benefit as Bank Frenzy, who was leaning on the right side of his stall when the gate latch was sprung, made up ground to rally from the back and then took command midway in the far turn of the one-turn mile affair for older horses.
“We were concerned with the way he broke – he got a little squeezed at the gate, but he was running so good,” Rodriguez said. “I think the time off that we gave him was very good for him. I have to thank Larry [owner, Sarf] for giving us the opportunity to give him a little break. He’s a nice horse. He’s solid.
“He was training very good,” Rodriguez added. “Manny worked him a couple times and he was training good. To see the track fast is always a plus because when it’s sloppy there’s a lot of kickback and makes it more difficult for them to progress. I saw Manny by the five-eighths pole and the horse was already very keen – when they went to the outside, I said, ‘wow, he has a lot of horse.’”
Bank Frenzy rated off the splits of 23.43 seconds and 47.20 set by Concealed Carry through the first half-mile and used the moderate pace to his advantage before crossing the wire in the final time of 1:40.29 on the fast track. He finished 3 1/2 lengths in front of the rallying Worcester, who broke outward at the start. Coastal Mission was another 3 1/2 lengths behind in third. Yo Daddy, the 2.30-1 favorite in the field of eight was in contention through the first half-mile but came up empty, finishing fifth 7 1/2-lengths back of fourth-place Curbstone.
Franco, aboard for Bank Frenzy’s last two victories, gave credit to the consistent gelding.
“He was impressive. The horse did everything. I just sat behind the fast pace in front of me. I was happy with the way my horse was traveling. By the three-eighths pole, my horse jumped on the bridle without me asking to do that. So I didn’t want to get into his way because I know he has a big stride, he is a big horse. I let him do it and he took me to the wire,” said Franco.
Worcester, who is trained by Brittany Russell and was ridden by Sheldon Russell, shipped in from their Laurel Park base and was seeking his first stakes win.
“We’ve always liked him. He came to us and he’s been doing everything we wanted him to do at home,” Sheldon Russell said. “It was time to test him a bit. We weren’t worried about the distance because he’s shown us both ways. I don’t want to say he is a weird horse, but you don’t really know what you are going to get. It’s just whether he breaks or not, and today unfortunately he didn’t break. I was comfortable with the way he was traveling but maybe the winner got the first jump. My guy ran all the way to the line, galloped out good, I just needed him to be closer if I was going to catch that other horse today.”
Bank Frenzy, a 5-year-old son of Central Banker out of the Tiznow mare Storm Now, was bred in New York by Chester and Mary Broman. He upped his record to 15 7-5-0 and improved his bankroll to $506,670.
“He’s a very good horse,” said Larry Sarf, of LSU Stables. “He’s won two in a row, and he’s won a stakes in open company now. Rudy trains this horse great. From seven-furlongs to mile, he’s effective. He had two state-bred stakes wins coming in and he has a chance to win the state-bred older horse of the year [2024 NYTB Older Dirt Male] and hopefully he’ll get it.”
Rodriguez said he was undecided what is next for his charge.
“He’s still learning and we’re very happy to have him in the barn. We’ll enjoy this win before deciding what’s next,” Rodriguez said.
Bank Frenzy returned $8.60 for a $2 wager. The complete order of finish behind the first five was Winnin’onweekends, Law Professor, and Concealed Carry.
Live racing resumes Sunday at the Big A with a nine-race card featuring the $125,000 Correction in Race 2. First post is 1:10 p.m. Eastern.
