Phoenix Rising has been the ‘perfect horse’ to have

Franklin Gannon III was 17 years old when his parents bought a yearling female pacer named Scarlet Brocade. Her impact on Gannon’s life, as well as the lives of his Maryland-based family, was immediate – and lasting.

As a 2-year-old, Scarlet Brocade was Gannon’s first starter when he launched his training career in 1999. She was a winner on the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes circuit at age 3 and paced a world-record 1:49.2 mile at Colonial Downs at age 8 in 2005. She retired two years later with 48 wins and $373,669 in purses, but that was not the end of her story.

Scarlet Brocade remained with Gannon’s parents, Joan and Franklin Jr., and embarked on her next chapter as a broodmare. Her first foal, a filly by The Panderosa, was named Scarlet Pandemic, and she too enjoyed a successful career for the Gannons, banking nearly $175,000 in purses. In her own turn at motherhood, Scarlet Pandemic produced Phoenix Rising, who has extended the family’s winning run to a third generation.

Phoenix Rising, by Movie Idol, was bred by Gannon and his parents and is owned by Gannon and his wife, Liz. The now 5-year-old mare was a Maryland Sire Stakes champion at age 3 and is on the verge of $200,000 in career earnings as she heads to Wednesday’s $10,000 Maryland Preferred pace for fillies and mares at Rosecroft Raceway.

“She’s been super,” Gannon said. “She’s everything to us. My mom and dad follow her, it keeps the whole family involved with her being a homebred. She’s just been the perfect horse to have, really. We’ve been very lucky, that’s for sure. Very lucky and very blessed to have her.”

Gannon got into harness racing at an early age, visiting the barn of his grandfather, Franklin Sr., who trained numerous standouts on the Maryland circuit.

“I’ve been doing horses for as long as I can remember,” Gannon said. “During the summertime when we were in school, we’d get dropped off at the barn and spend the day with Pop-Pop. I think I was training by myself at 10 or 11 years old with my grandfather. This is what I’ve always wanted to do. And when we got Scarlet Brocade, that was it. This was definitely what I was doing.”

Frank Milby, who started in harness racing one year prior to Gannon, drove Scarlett Brocade during her career, and is the regular driver of Phoenix Rising.

“He’s been my driver for as long as I’ve had horses,” Gannon said. “Frank has only missed a handful of starts with Phoenix Rising. He’s driven her the whole way. He gets along really well with her and is a big reason for her success.”

Phoenix Rising was limited to four starts as a 2-year-old because of growing pains but blossomed the following season. She hit the board in 20 of 27 races, winning 10 and finishing second on six occasions, on her way to $124,915 in purses. Her most memorable victory came in the Maryland Sire Stakes final at Rosecroft, where she upset Val’s Girl (then unbeaten in 12 career starts) at odds of 34-1.

“She showed a lot of ability as a 2-year-old, but the year didn’t work out like I was hoping it would have,” Gannon said. “She came back at 3 and was really, really good. I qualified her myself and then drove her one or two starts. A few weeks before the stakes started, I told Frank that she was ready to roll whenever he was ready to turn her loose. She’s always had a lot of go. She wants to do it.

“Her winning that sire stakes final was unbelievable for us. I had told people at the barn that I thought she could beat (Val’s Girl) with the right journey. I thought she was super sharp. Going back and listening to the race call of her winning with (announcer) Pete Medhurst, who recently passed, is really special to us, too. Pete was always very gracious.”

Gannon said Phoenix Rising, whose name reflects his interest in Greek mythology, is similar in many ways to Scarlet Brocade.

“She’s the spitting image,” Gannon said. “Brocade just did everything right and wanted to win. Phoenix is exactly like her. She’s a super easygoing horse, but she wants to win. There are a lot of horses that have the ability to go fast. But she’s going to beat horses that are faster than her sometimes because she wants to do it.”

Phoenix Rising and driver Milby will leave from post nine in a field of nine for Wednesday’s 10th race at Rosecroft (estimated post time 10:15 p.m. EDT). She is the 5-2 morning-line favorite. For free programs and tip sheets, visit the track’s website click here.

by Ken Weingartner, for the USTA