Amédée-François Frézier Amédée-François Frézier Amédée-François Frézier (1682 – October 26, 1773) was a French military engineer, mathematician, spy, and explorer who is best remembered for bringing back five specimens of "Fragaria chiloensis", the beach strawberry, from an assignment in South America, thus introducing this New World fruit to the Old. As described by G.M. Darrow, Frézier's ancient surname was derived from "fraise", the French word for strawberry. A story relates the surname is derived from the fact that Julius de Berry, a citizen of Anvers (i.e. Antwerp), was knighted by Charles the Simple in 916 for a timely gift of ripe strawberries.
Fraise with jockey Patrick Valenzuela guiding him through traffic. As they entered the stretch, Valenzuela spotted a small hole on the rail and Fraise responded with a strong drive to win by a nose from Sky Classic. He finished the year in the Hollywood Turf Cup Stakes, in which he was disqualified to second for interference. In the Eclipse Award voting for champion turf male, Fraise finished second to Sky Classic. Fraise returned to racing at age five, starting with a win in the Grade II Pan American Handicap at Gulfstream Park in Florida. He then suffered a splint injury while