McLaughlin: Frosted Has to Have 'A-Plus' Day
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When the starting gate opens June 6 in the $1.5 million Belmont Stakes (gr. I), one of the most accomplished challengers to American Pharoah's Triple Crown bid is Godolphin Racing's Frosted.
A striking gray son of leading sire Tapit produced from the grade II-winning Deputy Minister mare Fast Cookie, Frosted comes into the 1 1/2-mile Belmont with a record of 2-4-0 from eight starts and earnings of $936,800.
Trained by Kiaran McLaughlin, Frosted broke his maiden in his third career start and then finished second in the Remsen Stakes (gr. II). The colt began 2015 with a second in the Lambholm South Holy Bull (gr. II) and then in the Besilu Stables Fountain of Youth (gr. II) held the lead but then finished a troubled fourth.
He rebounded to win the Twinspires.com Wood Memorial Stakes (gr. I) by two lengths in come-from-behind fashion and again came from far back to finish fourth, 3 1/4 lengths behind winner American Pharoah, in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I).
"He's just a beautiful individual with a great pedigree," McLaughlin said of the colt bred in Kentucky by Darley.
"American Pharoah is obviously a super horse and he's going to be tough to beat," McLaughlin said the morning of June 1 shortly after watching the live stream of American Pharoah's final Belmont workout at Churchill Downs.
"We have to have an 'A-plus' day and he has to have a 'B' day. But it's a mile-and-a-half, it's a different race over a different track and we're here. We're as close to the paddock as you can get. So it's nice just to walk through the tunnel and be at the paddock."
Since joining McLaughlin, Frosted has raced steadily, beginning last August at Saratoga Race Course. With a little better racing luck, McLaughlin believes Frosted's record could be better than it is.
"He was second in two maiden races before he broke his maiden, and then he was second in the Remsen in what appeared to be a speed-biased track that day," McLaughlin said. "He ran great, but ran second. He has improved and improved, being fourth in the Fountain of Youth and fourth in the Kentucky Derby. We could have been second-best or even first in the Fountain of Youth. We had a funny day that day and we're still trying to figure out what happened.
"Everything came together for the Wood Memorial and he won it and then he ran great in the Derby. He had excuses (in the Derby), but I don't think we were going to beat the winner. The winner was the best horse that day."
McLaughlin said American Pharoah faces a tall order in the Belmont, which will be his third race in five weeks; he took the second leg of the Triple Crown in the Xpressbet.com Preakness Stakes (gr. I) May 16.
"It's a tough thing, with three races in five weeks; it's tough on any horse," he said. "But American Pharoah has done it the right way and he's training great, so he's going to be tough to beat. But you have to get in the gate and run the race."
McLaughlin said he will wait until after the Wednesday post position draw to discuss Belmont strategy with jockey Joel Rosario, who rode Frosted in both the Fountain of Youth and Kentucky Derby, but said he does not want the colt to be as far back as he was at Churchill Downs on May 2.
"I will talk to Joel after the post position draw," McLaughlin said of Rosario, who won the Belmont last year with Tonalist. "We will be closer (to the pacesetters) because it's a different distance and a different pace. We will be closer—we could still be last or seventh—but closer up; we won't be 15 lengths out of it and hopefully not six wide on the far turn like we were in the Derby. We will just have to see how we draw and who draws beside American Pharoah and how the race unfolds. But we will leave it up to Joel. He won it last year and he rides here every day so he knows the track very well.
"He (Frosted) couldn't be doing any better and we're ready to go."
