Don Frankie (, ; 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. He also finished second in the 2024 Dubai Golden Shaheen (G1). 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. His name combines "Don" (boss) with his dam's name.
Background Don Frankie is a chestnut stallion bred in Abira, Hokkaido, by Northern Farm. 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. 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.
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. 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.
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. On 16 April, he made his graded stakes debut in the Arlington Cup (GIII) on turf, finishing 12th behind Danon Scorpion. 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.
2023: four-year-old season Don Frankie won the Totomi Stakes (3-win class) at Chukyo in January, entering the open class. He then finished fourth in the Coral Stakes (Listed) and won the Commemorative Race Of The Kyoto Racecourse Grand Open (Open) in April. 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.
On 15 August, he finished second to Remake in the Cluster Cup (JpnIII) at Morioka Racecourse. 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. He was subsequently diagnosed with a fracture in his left radius and was sidelined for more than three months.
2024: five-year-old season He returned on 18 February in the February Stakes (GI) at Tokyo Racecourse, finishing ninth behind Peptide Nile. 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. On 14 August, he won the Cluster Cup (JpnIII) at Morioka, leading from the start and recording a winning weight of 607 kilograms. 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.
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. On 3 November, he ran in the JBC Sprint (JpnI) at Funabashi Racecourse, finishing 10th behind Fern Hill. His retirement was announced by trainer Takashi Saito on 4 November, and his JRA registration was cancelled on 6 November 2025. He entered Yushun Stallion Station in Niikappu, Hokkaido, as a stallion.
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. Date Distance (Condition) Race Class Course Odds(Favourite) Field Finish Time Jockey Winning(Losing)Margin Winner(2nd Place) Ref2021 – two-year-old season Turf 1400 m (Good) 2-Y-O Newcomer Maiden Hanshin 24.0 (6th) 17 1:24.4 Mirai Iwata 0.2 Tagano Finale Turf 1400 m (Good) 2-Y-O Maiden Maiden Niigata 2.8 (1st) 15 5th 1:21.1 Mirai Iwata 0.3 Jazz Blues Dirt 1400 m (Heavy) 2-Y-O Maiden Maiden Hanshin 2.4 (1st) 16 1:23.3 Cristian Demuro –0.6 (Meisho Kid)2022 – three-year-old season 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 Dirt 1400 m (Good) 3-Y-O 1-win 1-win Hanshin 2.5 (1st) 13 1:24.6 Kenichi Ikezoe –0.5 (T O Stealth) Turf 1400 m (Good) Arlington Cup GIII Hanshin 18.5 (6th) 18 12th 1:33.7 Kenichi Ikezoe 1.0 Danon Scorpion Dirt 1400 m (Good) 3-Y-O+ 2-win 2-win Chukyo 2.5 (1st) 16 1:22.8 Kenichi Ikezoe –0.9 (Kitano Express) Dirt 1400 m (Yielding) Himeji Stakes 3-win Hanshin 1.8 (1st) 14 1:23.9 Kenichi Ikezoe 0.0 Kaseno Dancer2023 – four-year-old season Dirt 1400 m (Heavy) Totomi Stakes 3-win Chukyo 1.8 (1st) 16 1:23.0 Yuichi Fukunaga –0.4 (Leonore) Dirt 1400 m (Good) Coral Stakes Listed Hanshin 2.3 (1st) 16 4th 1:24.1 Kenichi Ikezoe 0.1 Tagano Beauty Dirt 1200 m (Good) Commemorative Race Of The Kyoto Racecourse Grand Open Open Kyoto 2.7 (2nd) 16 1:10.8 Kenichi Ikezoe –0.3 (Cyclotron) Dirt 1400 m (Yielding) Procyon Stakes GIII Chukyo 4.8 (2nd) 15 1:23.0 Kenichi Ikezoe –0.1 (Remake) Dirt 1200 m (Heavy) Cluster Cup JpnIII Morioka 3.1 (2nd) 14 1:09.0 Kenichi Ikezoe 0.4 Remake Dirt 1200 m (Heavy) Tokyo Hai JpnII Oi 1.4 (1st) 13 Kenichi Ikezoe –0.2 (Ryuno Yukina)2024 – five-year-old season Dirt 1600 m (Good) February Stakes GI Tokyo 36.0 (10th) 16 9th 1:36.6 Kenichi Ikezoe 1.0 Peptide Nile Dirt 1200 m (Good) Dubai Golden Shaheen G1 Meydan 10.0 (5th) 14 1:11.2 Cristian Demuro 1.0 Tuz Dirt 1200 m (Good) Cluster Cup JpnIII Morioka 1.8 (1st) 13 1:10.0 Kenichi Ikezoe –0.1 (Kurojishi Joe) Dirt 1200 m (Good) Breeders' Cup Sprint G1 Del Mar (7th) 11 9th – Cristian Demuro – Straight No Chaser2025 – six-year-old season Dirt 1400 m (Yielding) Negishi Stakes GIII Tokyo 9.1 (5th) 16 13th 1:25.2 Kenichi Ikezoe 1.4 Costa Nova Dirt 1000 m (Yielding) JBC Sprint JpnI Funabashi 5.0 (2nd) 14 10th 1:00.0 Kenichi Ikezoe 1.2 Fern Hill 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.
Pedigree
Don Frankie is inbred 3 × 4 to Halo and 4 × 5 to Northern Dancer. His dam Weemissfrankie won the 2011 Del Mar Debutante Stakes and Oak Leaf Stakes (both G1).
See also Thoroughbred racing in Japan
References