Frank’s a good looker
Kirkwood talks up juvenile
RACING: Runaway Toowoomba winner Uncle Frank has come a long way since the mishap in the breeding barn at Glenlogan Park which led to how he earned his name.
Trained by Stephen Kirkwood and raced by his wife Catherine and Glenlogan Park’s Steve Morley, Uncle Frank lit up Clifford Park on Saturday night with an eightand-a-half lengths win under Kenji Yoshida.
The two-year-old was having his second start after being rolled at short odds on debut.
He’s patched up now, but as a young foal “Frank” injured himself in a way that prevented him winning any beauty contests.
“I have known Catherine’s dad Ron McRae for more than 30 years and he’s just a terrific bloke,’’ Morley said.
“Catherine and I have been friends since we were around 21.
“Anyway, they wanted to send their Sequalo mare Amber Rae to Jet Spur, but I told them Jet wasn’t the right mating for that particular mare and said Falvelon would suit much better.
“I’m a shareholder in Falvelon and wasn’t using my service that year, so I gave it to them for free.
“The following year came around and they told me how happy they were with the foal and that they wanted to go back to ‘Falv’ again.
“When they brought the mare back to be covered they really did have a nice foal.
“But while the mare was being covered, the colt was in our foal holding area and he jumped up high in the air and smashed his face and forehead up against the mesh.
“It was only skin, but the poor little fellow had stripped the skin from just under his ears down to his nose and there was a big flap hanging off him.
“The vets quickly stapled him back together. Catherine took one look at him with staples hanging out everywhere and said, ‘He looks like Frankenstein!’. That’s how he became Uncle Frank.”
Catherine tried many times to pay the Falvelon service fee, but after Morley refused to issue an invoice, she insisted on gifting him 10 per cent in the horse.
“He was underdone for that debut race and we just hoped his ability might get him home, but he showed his true potential on Saturday night,” Morley said.
“Maybe a race like the QTIS Jewel is something Stephen might look at.”