Options Open for Frosted Before Breeders' Cup

A decade after guiding Invasor through an undefeated campaign that helped land him in the Racing Hall of Fame, trainer Kiaran McLaughlin is enjoying a similar kind of ride with his current stable star.

Godolphin Racing's Frosted further solidified his credentials as the leading older horse on the East Coast with an impressive victory in the Whitney (gr. I) Aug. 6 at Saratoga Race Course in a top performance eight weeks after his record-setting triumph in the Metropolitan Handicap (gr. I).

The 4-year-old son of Tapit   was bright and happy Sunday morning following the Whitney, his third win from four starts this year, sixth in 17 for his career, and third in grade I company, pushing his lifetime bankroll to $3,852,800. 

"He came out of the race excellent. That's him. He's very happy. He's a star. It makes our job easy," McLaughlin said. "It was a great race yesterday, and it's great to be in the winner's circle with Marylou Whitney."

Frosted made it look easy in the 1 1/8-mile Whitney, cruising on the lead through six furlongs in a sparkling 1:09.65 before effortlessly pulling away in the stretch under Joel Rosario to win by two lengths.

NOVAK: Frosted Dazzles in Whitney

"You hear 1:09 and change and you get a little nervous, and then you look and see how easy he's doing it and he's in a good rhythm and Joel hasn't moved on him," McLaughlin said. "If he was there doing it that way, Joel had a lot of horse."

The Whitney earned Frosted an all-fees-paid trip to Santa Anita Park for the $6 million Breeders' Cup Classic (gr. I) at 1 1/4 miles Nov. 5. He had already qualified for a berth in the $1 million Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (gr. I) for his Met Mile victory at Belmont Park June 11.

"We always were thinking Classic anyway, because Santa Anita is a two-turn mile. A one-turn mile would be different," McLaughlin said, "but the way he ran yesterday on the lead maybe the mile's OK at Santa Anita because he's forwardly placed. We'll just see, but most likely he'll stay long."

McLaughlin said his options before then include the $600,000 Woodward (gr. I) Sept. 3 at Saratoga and/or the $1 million Jockey Club Gold Cup (gr. I) Oct. 8 at Belmont Park. The Woodward is run at 1 1/8 miles, and the Gold Cup is contested at the Classic's 1 1/4-mile distance.

"Obviously the Breeders' Cup is the main goal," he said. "Coming from the Breeders' Cup backwards, we could run in both of those races, one of those races or neither. I'll talk to Jimmy Bell and John Ferguson and they'll talk to the boss, Sheikh Mohammed, and see what their ideas are."

In 2006, Invasor won the Whitney and missed a scheduled start in the Gold Cup before winning the Breeders' Cup Classic to clinch champion older male and Horse of the Year honors.

"We were going to run in the Jockey Gold Cup but he got a temperature," McLaughlin said. "This time it would be different circumstances. It's nice because it's all weight-for-age, each race. We don't have to give a lot of weight away."

Invasor was retired in 2007 after capturing the Group 1 Dubai World Cup, finishing with 11 wins from 12 lifetime starts and earnings of $7.8 million. He won all six of his races for McLaughlin after coming over from his native Argentina, where he swept the 2005 Triple Crown. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2013.

"I hope that I can say that (Frosted is) the best horse I've ever trained. I always say Invasor is, and it's tough to top that," McLaughlin said. "But, if he keeps going and maybe wins the Breeders' Cup Classic, we can go from there. But, he is up there. They're 1 and 1A."