Don Frankie

  • Don Frankie
  • ドンフランキー
Don Frankie at the 2023 Kyoto Racecourse Grand Open Memorial
BreedThoroughbred
SireDaiwa Major
GrandsireSunday Silence
DamWeemissfrankie
DamsireSunriver
SexStallion
Foaled (2019-02-15) 15 February 2019
CountryJapan
ColourChestnut
BreederNorthern Farm
OwnerMakoto Hayano
TrainerTakashi Saito
Jockey
Record20: 8-3-1
Earnings¥252,657,200
Major wins

Don Frankie (Japanese: ドンフランキー, Don Furankī; foaled 15 February 2019) is a retired Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse and active sire. He recorded eight wins from twenty starts between 2021 and 2025, including the Procyon Stakes (GIII) and the Tokyo Hai (JpnII) in 2023, and the Cluster Cup (JpnIII) in 2024.[1] He also finished second in the 2024 Dubai Golden Shaheen (G1).[2] Weighing around 600 kilograms, he was nicknamed the "Super Heavy Tank" by the media, and set a JRA record for the heaviest horse to win a graded stakes race at 594 kilograms.[3] His name combines "Don" (boss) with his dam's name.[4]

Background

Don Frankie is a chestnut stallion bred in Abira, Hokkaido, by Northern Farm.[5] He was sired by Daiwa Major, and his dam was Weemissfrankie, a mare by Sunriver who won the Del Mar Debutante Stakes and the Oak Leaf Stakes (both G1) in the United States.[6] He was purchased for 73,440,000 yen by Makoto Hayano at the Select Sale and trained by Takashi Saito at the JRA's Ritto Training Center.[5]

Racing career

2021: two-year-old season

Don Frankie debuted on 26 June 2021 in a 2-year-old newcomer race over 1400 metres on turf at Hanshin Racecourse, finishing second behind Tagano Finale. He finished fifth in a maiden race at Niigata Racecourse in July.[1] Switching to dirt in December, he won his maiden race at Hanshin, leading from the start and winning by 0.6 seconds with Cristian Demuro.[1]

2022: three-year-old season

He began the year with a seventh-place finish in a 1-win class race at Chukyo Racecourse, then won his next start over 1400 metres on dirt at Hanshin in March.[1] On 16 April, he made his graded stakes debut in the Arlington Cup (GIII) on turf, finishing 12th behind Danon Scorpion.[1] Returning to dirt, he won a 2-win class race at Chukyo in September by 0.9 seconds, and finished second in the Himeji Stakes at Hanshin in November.[1]

2023: four-year-old season

Don Frankie won the Totomi Stakes (3-win class) at Chukyo in January, entering the open class.[1] He then finished fourth in the Coral Stakes (Listed) and won the Commemorative Race Of The Kyoto Racecourse Grand Open (Open) in April.[1] On 9 July, he contested the Procyon Stakes (GIII) at Chukyo. Ridden by Kenichi Ikezoe, he led the race and held off the late challenge of Remake by a neck, recording his first graded stakes victory. His winning weight of 594 kilograms broke the JRA record for the heaviest horse to win a graded stakes race.[7]

On 15 August, he finished second to Remake in the Cluster Cup (JpnIII) at Morioka Racecourse.[8] On 4 October, he ran in the Tokyo Hai (JpnII) at Oi Racecourse. He won the three-way battle in the straight and set a course record time of 1:10.0, securing his second graded stakes victory.[9] He was subsequently diagnosed with a fracture in his left radius and was sidelined for more than three months.[10]

2024: five-year-old season

He returned on 18 February in the February Stakes (GI) at Tokyo Racecourse, finishing ninth behind Peptide Nile.[1] On 30 March, he contested the Dubai Golden Shaheen (G1) at Meydan Racecourse. Ridden by Cristian Demuro, he led the race but was passed on the inside in the straight, finishing second.[2] On 14 August, he won the Cluster Cup (JpnIII) at Morioka, leading from the start and recording a winning weight of 607 kilograms.[11] On 2 November, he ran in the Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1) at Del Mar Racetrack in the United States, finishing ninth behind Straight No Chaser.[1]

2025: six-year-old season

Don Frankie began the year on 2 February in the Negishi Stakes (GIII) at Tokyo, finishing 13th behind Costa Nova.[1] On 3 November, he ran in the JBC Sprint (JpnI) at Funabashi Racecourse, finishing 10th behind Fern Hill.[1] His retirement was announced by trainer Takashi Saito on 4 November, and his JRA registration was cancelled on 6 November 2025.[12][13] He entered Yushun Stallion Station in Niikappu, Hokkaido, as a stallion.[12]

Race record

The following table details all 20 starts of Don Frankie's racing career based on official JBIS and netkeiba records. Record current as of his final start on 3 November 2025.[14][1]

Date Distance (Condition) Race Class Course Odds
(Favourite)		 Field Finish Time Jockey Winning
(Losing)
Margin		 Winner
(2nd Place)		 Ref
2021 – two-year-old season
Jun 26 Turf 1400 m (Good) 2-Y-O Newcomer Maiden Hanshin 24.0 (6th) 17 2nd 1:24.4 Mirai Iwata 0.2 Tagano Finale [1]
Jul 24 Turf 1400 m (Good) 2-Y-O Maiden Maiden Niigata 2.8 (1st) 15 5th 1:21.1 Mirai Iwata 0.3 Jazz Blues [1]
Dec 18 Dirt 1400 m (Heavy) 2-Y-O Maiden Maiden Hanshin 2.4 (1st) 16 1st 1:23.3 Cristian Demuro –0.6 (Meisho Kid) [1]
2022 – three-year-old season
Jan 8 Dirt 1800 m (Good) 3-Y-O 1-win 1-win Chukyo 9.6 (4th) 14 7th 1:53.9 Cristian Demuro 1.0 Desierto [1]
Mar 13 Dirt 1400 m (Good) 3-Y-O 1-win 1-win Hanshin 2.5 (1st) 13 1st 1:24.6 Kenichi Ikezoe –0.5 (T O Stealth) [1]
Apr 16 Turf 1400 m (Good) Arlington Cup GIII Hanshin 18.5 (6th) 18 12th 1:33.7 Kenichi Ikezoe 1.0 Danon Scorpion [1]
Sep 18 Dirt 1400 m (Good) 3-Y-O+ 2-win 2-win Chukyo 2.5 (1st) 16 1st 1:22.8 Kenichi Ikezoe –0.9 (Kitano Express) [1]
Nov 20 Dirt 1400 m (Yielding) Himeji Stakes 3-win Hanshin 1.8 (1st) 14 2nd 1:23.9 Kenichi Ikezoe 0.0 Kaseno Dancer [1]
2023 – four-year-old season
Jan 14 Dirt 1400 m (Heavy) Totomi Stakes 3-win Chukyo 1.8 (1st) 16 1st 1:23.0 Yuichi Fukunaga –0.4 (Leonore) [1]
Mar 11 Dirt 1400 m (Good) Coral Stakes Listed Hanshin 2.3 (1st) 16 4th 1:24.1 Kenichi Ikezoe 0.1 Tagano Beauty [1]
Apr 22 Dirt 1200 m (Good) Commemorative Race Of The Kyoto Racecourse Grand Open Open Kyoto 2.7 (2nd) 16 1st 1:10.8 Kenichi Ikezoe –0.3 (Cyclotron) [1]
Jul 9 Dirt 1400 m (Yielding) Procyon Stakes GIII Chukyo 4.8 (2nd) 15 1st 1:23.0 Kenichi Ikezoe –0.1 (Remake) [7]
Aug 15 Dirt 1200 m (Heavy) Cluster Cup JpnIII Morioka 3.1 (2nd) 14 2nd 1:09.0 Kenichi Ikezoe 0.4 Remake [8]
Oct 4 Dirt 1200 m (Heavy) Tokyo Hai JpnII Oi 1.4 (1st) 13 1st R1:10.0 Kenichi Ikezoe –0.2 (Ryuno Yukina) [9]
2024 – five-year-old season
Feb 18 Dirt 1600 m (Good) February Stakes GI Tokyo 36.0 (10th) 16 9th 1:36.6 Kenichi Ikezoe 1.0 Peptide Nile [1]
Mar 30 Dirt 1200 m (Good) Dubai Golden Shaheen G1 Meydan 10.0 (5th) 14 2nd 1:11.2 Cristian Demuro 1.0 Tuz [2]
Aug 14 Dirt 1200 m (Good) Cluster Cup JpnIII Morioka 1.8 (1st) 13 1st 1:10.0 Kenichi Ikezoe –0.1 (Kurojishi Joe) [11]
Nov 2 Dirt 1200 m (Good) Breeders' Cup Sprint G1 Del Mar (7th) 11 9th – Cristian Demuro – Straight No Chaser [1]
2025 – six-year-old season
Feb 2 Dirt 1400 m (Yielding) Negishi Stakes GIII Tokyo 9.1 (5th) 16 13th 1:25.2 Kenichi Ikezoe 1.4 Costa Nova [1]
Nov 3 Dirt 1000 m (Yielding) JBC Sprint JpnI Funabashi 5.0 (2nd) 14 10th 1:00.0 Kenichi Ikezoe 1.2 Fern Hill [1]
  • R indicated that it was a record time finish

Stud career

Don Frankie retired to Yushun Stallion Station in Niikappu, Hokkaido, where he began his stud career in 2026.[12]

Pedigree

Pedigree of Don Frankie (JPN)
Sire
Daiwa Major (JPN)
2001		 Sunday Silence (USA)
1986		 Halo Hail to Reason
Cosmah
Wishing Well Understanding
Mountain Flower
Scarlet Bouquet (JPN)
1988		 Northern Taste Northern Dancer
Lady Victoria
Scarlet Ink Crimson Satan
Consentida
Dam
Weemissfrankie (USA)
2009		 Sunriver (USA)
2003		 Saint Ballado Halo
Ballade
Goulash Mari's Book
Wise Bride
Starinthemeadow (USA)
2000		 Meadowlake Hold Your Peace
Suspicious Native
Lite a Star Our Michael
Twist a Star

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 "ドンフランキーの競走成績". netkeiba (in Japanese). Retrieved 6 August 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 "【ドバイGS】ドンフランキー海外初挑戦で逃げて2着健闘、斉藤崇師「やりたい競馬はできた」". Nikkan Sports (in Japanese). 30 March 2024. Retrieved 6 August 2026.
  3. ↑ "【プロキオンS】600キロに迫る〝超重戦車〟ドンフランキーが抱えるジレンマ 今後の目標はどこに？". Toshpo Keiba (in Japanese). 10 July 2023. Retrieved 6 August 2026.
  4. ↑ "競走馬情報 - ドンフランキー". JRA (in Japanese). Retrieved 6 August 2026.
  5. 1 2 "ドンフランキー". JBIS Search (in Japanese). Japan Bloodhorse Breeders' Association. Retrieved 6 August 2026.
  6. 1 2 3 "ドンフランキー 血統情報：5代血統表". JBIS Search (in Japanese). Japan Bloodhorse Breeders' Association. Retrieved 6 August 2026.
  7. 1 2 "ドンと594キロ！ドンフランキーJRA重賞最高馬体重V 池添「まだ成長する」／プロキオンS". Nikkan Sports (in Japanese). 9 July 2023. Retrieved 6 August 2026.
  8. 1 2 "【クラスターC】リメイクが直線内から鋭く抜け出す！2度目の重賞Vで秋の大舞台へ". Sanspo (in Japanese). 15 August 2023. Retrieved 6 August 2026.
  9. 1 2 "【大井競馬・東京盃】ドンフランキー断然人気に応える快勝 池添「この馬の力を見せられた」気になる〝次走〟は？". Toshpo Keiba (in Japanese). 4 October 2023. Retrieved 6 August 2026.
  10. ↑ "東京盃を制したドンフランキー、左橈骨遠位端骨折で3カ月以上の休養". Sports Nippon (in Japanese). 15 November 2023. Retrieved 6 August 2026.
  11. 1 2 "607キロの巨漢ドンフランキーが逃げ切る「かわされる感じはしなかった」／クラスターC". Nikkan Sports (in Japanese). 14 August 2024. Retrieved 6 August 2026.
  12. 1 2 3 ""ドンちゃん"の愛称で人気 ダート重賞3勝の巨漢馬ドンフランキーが引退 優駿SSで種牡馬になる予定". netkeiba.com (in Japanese). 4 November 2025. Retrieved 6 August 2026.
  13. ↑ "プロキオンSなど重賞3勝のドンフランキーが競走馬登録抹消 優駿スタリオンステーションで種牡馬に". netkeiba.com (in Japanese). 6 November 2025. Retrieved 6 August 2026.
  14. ↑ "ドンフランキー 競走成績". JBIS Search (in Japanese). Japan Bloodhorse Breeders' Association. Retrieved 6 August 2026.
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