Bank Frenzy streaks into $125K Haynesfield
LSU Stables’ multiple stakes-winner Bank Frenzy brings a three-race win streak into Sunday’s $125,000 Haynesfield, a one-turn mile for older New York-breds, at Aqueduct Racetrack.
Trained by Rudy Rodriguez, the 5-year-old Central Banker gelding boasts an ultra-consistent 15-7-5-0 record and enters on a string of local one-turn mile successes under Big A winter meet leading rider Manny Franco.
He matched a career-best 97 Beyer Speed Figure with a 3 3/4-length open optional-claiming score in November ahead of a game nose win over stakes-winner Doc Sullivan in the state-bred Alex M. Robb on December 28 to close out his 4-year-old campaign. Both of those efforts were executed over sloppy and sealed footing.
Bank Frenzy [post 1, Manny Franco] returned to action on March 1 in the Listed Stymie and overcame trouble at the gate to edge away to a 3 1/2-length win over a fast main track.
Rodriguez said despite being squeezed and brushing the gate at the start, Bank Frenzy proved resilient while racing from a nine-week layoff.
“It was a good race,” Rodriguez said. “He wears extension blinkers, and you have to manage him. It's hard for him to see the other horses beside him, so it's up to the jockey to keep him straight up. Manny is riding him very well and we're happy to have Manny back."
Rodriguez said despite the chestnut’s success on off tracks, he would prefer a fast track on Sunday.
"I would love to have a fast track, but that's up to the man upstairs," said Rodriguez, with a laugh. "The way he ran the last time gave me all the confidence that he loves the fast track better than the sloppy track, maybe because on a sloppy track you get a lot more kickback."
Bank Frenzy has since worked back three times over the Belmont Park dirt training track, including a half-mile Sunday in 47.61 seconds.
"He worked well,” Rodriguez said. “The track was fast, and good horses do everything easy. I told the exercise rider to give him a nice, solid work and he accomplished what I wanted to do."
Bank Frenzy made his first nine starts for trainer Lisa Lewis and has posted a 6-4-2-0 record since being purchased privately and joining the Rodriguez barn. He took down the Evan Shipman Handicap first up in August at Saratoga Race Course for current connections with all four of those scores coming at the one-mile distance, including three around one-turn here.
"He's just a good horse. Every time we put him out there since we got him from Lisa Lewis, he always tries hard," Rodriguez said. "He's a solid horse and we're just happy to be along for the ride. I have to thank Larry and Randy Sarf [LSU Stables] for letting us have this horse in the barn. He's been very consistent."
Bank Frenzy is out of the Tiznow mare Storm Now and was bred by Chester and Mary Broman. The $110,000 OBS Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training purchase has banked $506,670.
Linda Rice, leading trainer at the recently concluded Aqueduct winter meet, has entered a pair of formidable contenders in Wynstock [post 3, Dylan Davis] and Sheriff Bianco [post 7, Ruben Silvera].
Jack Liebau, Sr.'s graded stakes-winner Wynstock made his first 10 starts on the West Coast for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert. His California excursions were led by a prominent victory in the 1 1/16-mile Grade 2 Los Alamitos Futurity in December 2023 when a half-length better than Stronghold, who took down the Grade 3 Sunland Park Derby and Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby in his next two outings.
The now 4-year-old Solomini chestnut added a nose win over then stablemate Cornell in the nine-furlong Listed Los Alamitos Derby in June which he followed with a pair of off-the-board efforts, including a last-out seventh in the Grade 2 Twilight Derby on October 26 over firm turf at Santa Anita Park.
Rice, who noted she tried to buy the colt as a 2-year-old-in-training, said Wynstock benefitted from a three-month respite before returning to training.
"Me and a lot of other people had hoped to buy him as a 2-year-old," said Rice, with a laugh. "I went to the OBS April sale, and I knew the horse then and was hoping to get him bought, but, of course, didn't. Two years later he shows up over here in New York in my barn.
"We sent him to Dr. Patty Hogan in New Jersey for a 90-day period of rest which he was in need of," Rice added. "We gave him the freshening and brought him back into Belmont and he has been training pretty forwardly.”
He has worked five times over the Belmont dirt training track since February 27, including a five-eighths breeze from the gate Sunday in 1:00.52.
"We have done quite a bit of gate work with him,” Rice said. “His history was that he was breaking a little slow in California and we spent some time with him just settling his nerves. I wanted to sharpen him up from the gates for his race. It was a good work.
"He's a big raw-boned colt - a sturdy horse,” Rice continued. “He has some tactical speed but acts like he likes the distance. Hopefully, we can get him to return to good form.”
Wynstock, out of the Flatter mare Timberlea, was bred by Empire Equines and sold for $700,000 at the 2023 OBS Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training, after originally going for $50,000 at the 2022 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. His second dam, Exit Three, produced Grade 3-winner Untrapped.
Sheriff Bianco, owned by A. Bianco Holding Limited and bred by SF Bloodstock, is cross-entered in Saturday’s seven-furlong Grade 2, $300,000 Carter presented by NYRA Bets where he drew the outermost post 8.
The hard-knocking Speightster 7-year-old broke through at stakes level in his 41st start last out, pouncing to a 1 3/4-length score in the state-bred Say Florida Sandy traveling seven furlongs over fast footing on February 15 here.
Rice said she was pleased to see Sheriff Bianco, who sports a 9-3-3-2 ledger on wet tracks, earn his long-awaited stakes win – but she remains undecided on which day the gelding will race this weekend.
"That was fun. It seems that seven-eighths is his best distance,” Rice said of the Say Florida Sandy score. “Of course, the Carter is seven-eighths and the Haynesfield is a mile, but the Carter is a strong group. We'll take a closer look at it and go from there.
"He likes the mud, and it looks like it's going to be a wet track both days," Rice added. "We haven't really decided which direction we're going to go yet."
Seacoast Thoroughbreds of New England’s dual Grade 3-placed homebred General Banker [post 2, Luis Rivera, Jr.] arrives from a prominent win off a change of tactics in a second-level open optional-claimer for trainer Jimmy Ferraro.
The 5-year-old Central Banker dark bay had settled no closer than fifth through the early running of three-prior attempts at the level but found himself on the lead last out after a half-mile in 47.51 traveling a one-turn mile under regular pilot Luis Rivera, Jr. He held a head advantage at both the three-quarter and stretch call and continued to find more down the lane, while drifting out under left-handed encouragement en route to a 1 1/4-length score in a final time of 1:39.45. The winning effort earned a career-best 93 Beyer.
General Banker has hit the board in more than half of his outings via a 30-5-7-4 record for purse earnings of $753,908 that includes third-place finishes on the local 2023 Kentucky Derby trail in the Jerome, Grade 3 Withers and Grade 3 Gotham. The hard-trying fellow, out of the six-time-winning Johannesburg mare Elusive Jozi, notched his lone stakes score in style, graduating at eighth asking in the 2022 $500,000 NYSSS Great White Way.
Rounding out a competitive field are the stakes-placed duo of Just Step On It [post 6, Dexter Haddock] for trainer Louis C. Linder, Jr., and Radio Red [post 4, Kendrick Carmouche] for trainer Danny Gargan; as well as five-time winner Locke and Key [post 5, Lane Luzzi] for conditioner James Ryerson.
The Haynesfield is slated as Race 9 on Sunday’s 10-race card, which co-features the $125,000 Biogio’s Rose in Race 4. First post is 1:10 p.m. Eastern.
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