Breeders' Cup Turf Winner Fraise Dies in Kentucky

Fraise, winner of the 1992 Breeders' Cup Turf (gr. IT), died early Sunday morning at Old Friends at Hurstland Farm near Midway, Ky. A preliminary necropsy performed at the University of Kentucky Diagnostic Laboratory indicated that the cause of death was from a ruptured blood vessel in the gelding's abdomen. Fraise will be cremated and permanently interred, joining Estrapade in the Old Friends' cemetery.

"Fraise visited with several tour groups on Saturday and seemed to be fine," said Old Friends president Michael Blowen. "But farm manager Tim Overton called on Sunday morning at 8:15 to report Fraise's death. It's a very, very sad time. Fraise had been returned from Japan on Aug. 16 and seemed to really be enjoying himself."

The 17-year-old son of Strawberry Road earned $2,613,105 and finished first six times in added-money events. Fraise entered stud in Japan and stood there for eight seasons before being gelded and sent to the Olympic Riding School in Chiba. Old Friends purchased Fraise from Koichiro Watanabe, the president of the Olympic Club, for $10,000 this past summer and returned him to this country.

Madeleine (Paulson) Pickens raced Fraise after winning him in a golf match by beating her late husband, Allen Paulson. She donated $65,000 to Old Friends to pay for the costing of bringing Fraise and another Old Friends resident, Ogygian, back from Japan.

Old Friends will have a tribute to Fraise on Nov. 25 at 11 a.m. (EST) at the farm.