One of the best three-year-old fillies in the land last season, when placing behind Verry Elleegant in the Group 1 Australian Oaks and Group 1 Vinery Stud Stakes, the royally-bred Frankel filly Frankely Awesome made a welcome return to the winner’s stall in Saturday’s Listed Iron Jack W J McKell Cup (2000m) at Rosehill Gardens.
The Kris Lees-trained daughter of Frankel had been winless since her first two starts back in September 2018 and spent almost 12 months on the sidelines after her third in the Australian oaks at Randwick.
With Jason Collett in the saddle Frankely Awesome finished determinedly to defeat stablemate Sixties Groove (IRE) by three-quarters of a length who edged out Carzoff (FR) for second.
"She looked like being a really handy three-year-old and she went amiss in the Oaks," Lees told AAP.
"It has taken a while to get her back to this grade and I think she is really appreciating the soft ground during the winter.”
Frankely Awesome is the first foal of stakes-winning Street Cry mare Street Secret (USA) who was purchased by Meridian International for 48,000 guineas out of the Darley draft at Tattersalls in February 2012 as the winner of two of her five starts. She went on for a stakes win at Belmont in the US in addition to placing in stakes races in France and Germany.
At the 2013 Fasig-Tipton November Breeding Stock Sale, James Bester purchased Street Secret (USA) for $US535,000.
Her stakes-placed dam Always Awesome (Awesome Again) is a half-sister to the Group 1 Deutschland-Preis winner Anzillero (Law Society) out of the Plugged Nickel mare Anzille who is a half-sister to the breed-shaping mare Urban Sea and the 2000 Guineas hero King’s Best.
Cressfield sold Street Secret (USA) in foal to Snitzel at the 2017 Inglis Chairman's Sale for $680,000 to Paul Moroney Bloodstock on behalf of Sir Owen Glenn's Go Bloodstock.
She had a Snitzel colt waiting in the wings who would be passed in short of his $250,000 reserve at the 2018 Inglis Premier Yearling Sale.
Named Secretly Awesome and also racing in the Cressfield colours, he has won two of his three starts for trainer Gerald Ryan.
Street Secret (USA) produced a filly for Go Bloodstock, which has been named Maternal Gift. After missing to Criterion in 2017, Street Secret (USA) had more bad luck the following season when her Merchant Navy foal died. She was covered by Snitzel again last season.
Frankely Awesome becomes the 54th stakes-winner for Juddmonte farms undefeated champion Frankel.
