Frankel to Train Some Stronach Horses at Woodbine

Hall of Fame trainer Bobby Frankel, who sent out Frank Stronach's Ghostzapper to win the Breeders' Cup Classic – Powered by Dodge (gr. I), will have a string of Stronach horses at Canada's Woodbine Racecourse this season.

Frankel is a five-time Eclipse Award winning trainer and is second on the all-time money list for trainers in North America with purse earnings of over $173 million from over 3,000 winners.

A 5-year-old horse bred by Stronach, Ghostzapper was voted Horse of the Year for 2004.

Stronach Stables will have 40 stalls at Woodbine when the season gets underway on April 16. Frankel will have about 15 of the Stronach horses and Canadian-based Justin Nixon will be the other Stronach trainer.

"Mr. Stronach thought it would be a good idea to come up there, especially the way the purses are," said Frankel. "I think it's a well run, real safe racing surface and it has a great grass course."

Frankel has sporadically sent horses to Woodbine in the past. The conditioner saddled Riviera to win the 2000 Atto Mile (Can-I) and the filly Commercante to win last year's E.P. Taylor Stakes (Can-I).

The latter event was one of several stakes races that will have an increased purse for 2005, jumping from $750,000 to $1 million for this season.

"I'll probably send some other horses up there and I'll be running in a lot more stakes races," Frankel said of his plans.

Frankel said his Woodbine division will be overseen by his assistant Brian Lynch. "I'll be based in New York so I'll probably come up to Woodbine a couple times a month," Frankel said.