Connections
Trainer: Robert Frankel
Robert "Bobby" J. Frankel was born on July 9, 1941, in Brooklyn, N. Y. He began career as hotwalker at Belmont and Aqueduct in the mid-1960s before taking out his trainer’s license in 1966. He moved to California in 1972. Frankel has won 30 training titles spread among Del Mar, Hollywood, Santa Anita, Oak Tree and Saratoga. He has been in the nation’s top 20 trainers in money won every year since 1971. His accolades include five Eclipse Awards as nation’s top trainer, five Breeders' Cup wins, and training 10 champions. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1995.
Frankel has saddled 17 starters in the Arlington Million including 2000 victor Chester House and 2002 hero Beat Hollow. He has saddled 13 starters in the Beverly D. including winners Possibly Perfect (1995) and Heat Haze (2003). He also saddled Chiselling to win the 2002 Secretariat Stakes.
Jockey: John Velasquez
A native of Puerto Rico, born on November 24, 1971, Velazquez is perennially among the top 10 riders in New York, where he currently lives. On Sept. 3, 2001, he became the first jockey in Saratoga history to ride six winners on a single card. On April 22, 2001, Velazquez won his 2,000th career race. His mounts earned in excess of $22.4 million in 2004, tops in the nation, while his 335 wins were good for third last year. After attending jockey's school and riding in Puerto Rico, came to New York in March 1990. He has ridden in eight Derbies, his best a second on Invisible Ink in '01. He and his wife Leona, daughter of trainer Leo O'Brien, have one daughter and one son.Owner: Gary Tanaka
Gary Tanaka was born on June 23, 1943, in Hunt, Idaho. He currently resides in London and New York. He is twice married and has four children. He became an owner in 1993 and since then has become an enthusiastic buyer of some of the best racehorses in Europe.Breeder:
