Fantastic five for Free As A Bird in Franklin County Stakes

Hard Spun mare Free As A Bird entered Keeneland's Franklin County Stakes with four Stakes wins in a row,  so it came as no surprise that the five-year-old mare added a fifth to her record October 10.

In the five-and-one-half-furlong turf sprint Free As A Bird was held back in sixth, traveling six-lengths off the pace. With a quarter-mile to go the mare took off, swinging wide and driving down the lane to an effortless win.

A homebred for Elizabeth Jones Valando, Free As A Bird is out of G3 winner and G1 Ashland Stakes-placed Take The Cake, who has also produced Stakes winner Let Me Entertain U. The daughter of Hard Spun is now six-for-eight this year alone, with two other Black type wins at both Saratoga and Belmont.

Hard Spun, a son of the legendary Danzig, is the sire of five G1 winners to date. In 2014 they've included G1 Arlington Million winner Hardest Core, G1 Wood Memorial and G2 Jim Dandy victor Wicked Strong, and Hard Not To Like who captured the G1 Jenny Wiley at Keeneland. The sire is also represented by Eclipse Champion Questing and G1 Mother Goose winner Zo Impressive from his first crop of runners.