Frosted Carries Hopes of Sheikh Mohammed

In 2008, Sheikh Mohammed added to his Kentucky holdings when he purchased the former Stonerside Farm from Robert and Janice McNair. That transaction and farm, now known as Darley Stonerside, is directly responsible for Godolphin runner Frosted, who will try to upset American Pharoah in the June 6 Belmont Stakes presented by DraftKings (gr. I). 

 

Frosted, a son of Tapit   (as was last year's Belmont winner Tonalist), is approaching $1 million in earnings and already has the Twinspires.com Wood Memorial (gr. I) in his column. He is progressing in leaps and bounds and figures to be the second choice in the third leg of the Triple Crown. Frosted ran well late to finish fourth in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I). Most satisfying for the Darley/Godolphin team is that the gray runner races as a homebred.

 

"Sheikh Mohammed is very passionate about both racing and breeding and wants to breed everything we have toward racing," said Jimmy Bell, who heads Darley's American operation. "The goal is to get all the breeding stock to the racetrack so this is very much the bulls-eye for what we're trying to achieve.

 

 

"It's going to be a packed house over there watching it as it was for the Derby. He's very excited about what's going on here and having a major participant in these classics. We're very excited on both sides of the pond. We've got a trainer (Kiaran McLaughlin) and a jock (Joel Rosario) who have both won the Belmont so maybe the two-legged team can help Frosted have a big day."

 

Frosted's immediate story begins in 1995, when Robert McNair and his bloodstock manager John Adger were shopping at the 1995 Keeneland September yearling sale. A pretty filly caught McNair's eye and they ended up spending $400,000 for the daughter of Deputy Minister. They named her Minister's Melody.

 

Minister's Melody wound up being a graded stakes winner and earner of more than $450,000 for Stonerside Stable. That total would have climbed higher if she hadn't run into a filly named Fleet Lady in both the La Canada and El Encino stakes (both gr. II), and finished second to her both times.

 

Adger and McNair remembered Fleet Lady, and when breeder John Mabee was preparing to run her through a sale, Stonerside purchased Fleet Lady privately. A few days earlier, she had been bred to Deputy Minister. The resultant foal, named Fast Cookie, was credited to Stonerside as breeder. 

Fast Cookie was part of the Stonerside package bought by Sheikh Mohammed. She is now known as the dam of Frosted. The rest, as they say, is history.

 

And the connections of Frosted will be hoping to make history in the Belmont. Sheikh Mohammed has previously won an American classic when Bernardini   took the Preakness Stakes (gr. I).

 

"Listen, American Pharoah is a deserving favorite and has done nothing wrong," said Bell. "He's been very impressive. We're going to have to have an A+ day. But these races have a lot of intrigue and variables that can happen. It doesn't always go according to plan.

 

"The good thing for us is, we have a horse showing all the right signs. He continues to mature mentally. His confidence is sky high and he just keeps climbing that ladder. There has been a marked, visible change in him since the beginning of the year to right now. He's on the improve and we couldn't be any happier about  where he's at."

 

Although Sheikh Mohammed will be staying home for the race, his desire to compete in top races around the world is well-documented. And after what he hopes will be a long and successful racing career, the sheikh will no doubt have a paddock at Darley for his striking son of Tapit.