Forced to skip the
Matriarch
S. (G1) last year after all turf racing was canceled for Hollywood Park’s
autumn meet, Bobby Frankel returned to a familiar winner’s circle when saddling
Juddmonte Farms’ homebred PRICE TAG (GB) (Dansili [GB]) to victory in Sunday’s
$500,000 event. Frankel now ranks as the patriarch of the Matriarch, having won
seven of the last 10 runnings and tying Charlie Whittingham’s record of seven
overall wins in the event.
“It feels good,” Frankel said. “It actually feels better every year. I got
(Price Tag) about six weeks ago. They didn’t tell me anything about her. They
just send them in and say, ‘do what you want.’ That’s why they do so well. No
instructions come with the horse.”
It appeared as though Frankel would be denied this year’s edition as Price
Tag settled near the rear while River’s Prayer (Devon Lane) moved to the fore
and led the field through splits of :23 2/5 and :46 2/5. Pommes Frites
(Dynaformer) was the first to pounce on the pacesetter, moving to the outside
entering the final turn of the mile test and taking over by the time six
furlongs had been reached in 1:10 3/5. Straightening for the stretch drive,
Pommes Frites appeared well on her way to victory, but a cavalry charge was
looming behind her as the rest of the field began to catch up.
With Edgar Prado maneuvering her in between horses, Price Tag suddenly
appeared on the outside in a mad dash to the wire. Closely followed by Three
Degrees (Ire) (Singspiel [Ire]), Price Tag managed to be a half-length clear at
the line, finishing the firm turf event in 1:34 3/5.
Sent off the 2-1 co-favorite with entrymate Mirabilis (Lear Fan), Price Tag
paid $6.40, $4 and $2.80 while keying $1 exotics of $14.40 (exacta), $72.30
(trifecta) and $841.20 (1-8-10-5 superfecta). Three Degrees, the 4-1 second
pick, was worth $4.20 and $2.80 for taking second by a head over Pommes Frites,
who returned $3.80 at 8-1 while holding on to third by a head over Mea Domina
(Dance Brightly).
It was another head back to Society Hostess (Seeking the Gold), who was
followed by Ready to Please (More Than Ready), Beautyandthebeast (GB)
(Machiavellian), Memorette (Memo [Chi]), Attima (GB) (Zafonic), Danzon (Royal
Academy), Clinet (Ire) (Docksider), Mirabilis, Cambiocorsa (Avenue of Flags) and
River’s Prayer. Sohgol (Ire) (Singspiel [Ire]) was on the also-eligible list and
didn’t draw in.
Bred in Great Britain by her owner, Price Tag was making her U.S. debut in
the Matriarch but is no stranger to stakes competition. The bay sophomore miss
captured the Prix du Pin (Fr-G3) and ran third in the Prix de la Grotte (Fr-G3)
at Longchamp this season. She also finished first in the French One Thousand
Guineas (Fr-G1), but was disqualified to third for interference in the stretch.
With this victory, Price Tag now boasts a 10-3-0-2 record with $457,189 in
lifetime earnings.
The second registered foal out of the winning Tarocchi (Affirmed), Price Tag
has an unraced juvenile half-brother named Eagle Nebula (Observatory).