By Joe Bianca
Around this time last year, Godolphin's Frosted (Tapit) was spending his race days chasing American Pharoah (Pioneerof the Nile) around, never quite getting to the big horse. Now, however, after an incredible blowout win in the GI Mohegan Sun Metropolitan H. June 11 at Belmont, Frosted is that big horse, and he's scared away much of the competition in Saturday's GI, $1.25-million Whitney H., meeting only five other rivals in the Spa's annual early August feature.
After capturing last April's GI Twinspires.com Wood Memorial at Aqueduct, Frosted passed 10 rivals to finish fourth to American Pharoah in the GI Kentucky Derby before running a distant second in that one's GI Belmont S. romp. He was also largely responsible for the Triple Crown winner's only 2015 loss, taking it to him through sharp fractions in the GI Travers S. on this oval. American Pharoah won that battle, but lost the war, getting softened up enough to allow Keen Ice (Curlin) to pass him late for the upset. Frosted checked in third, and after a win in the GII Pennsylvania Derby, the gray got a good look at Pharoah's backside one last time when finishing seventh in the GI Breeders' Cup Classic Oct. 31 at Keeneland.
Frosted began his 2016 campaign in Dubai, easily capturing the G2 Al Maktoum Challenge Round 2 Feb. 4 before running a wide fifth in the G1 Dubai World Cup Mar. 26. Far from suffering the “Dubai bounce,” Frosted returned with one of the most impressive efforts by any horse in the last decade, obliterating the Met Mile field by 14 1/4 lengths with a 123 Beyer, stopping the timer under wraps in 1:32.73, the fastest clocking ever recorded in arguably America's most historically important handicap race.
“That was a 'wow' race. It was an unbelievable race that day,” trainer Kiaran McLaughlin told the NYRA notes team. “The time to the Met Mile was very important. [He had] 70 days, he was back with Joel [Rosario], back with Lasix, but the timing, I thought, was the most important thing. Last year, we were running often. So the time was key and now we have time again, about eight weeks. He doesn't act like he needs it but it looks like he's better with a little time.”
The specter of a repeat of that performance has apparently resonated on the backstretch of Saratoga, with only a quintet of runners entered against Frosted to contest the nine furlongs of the Whitney. The most accomplished of his foes is Tri-Bone Stables' Effinex (Mineshaft), runner-up to American Pharoah in the Breeders' Cup Classic and winner of last fall's GI Clark H. at Churchill. The 5-year-old most recently bounced back from a dull sixth-place effort in the GI Stephen Foster H. under the Twin Spires June 18 with a hard-fought win in the GII Suburban H. July 9 at Belmont.
Upstart (Flatter) beat Frosted twice last winter in Florida in Gulfstream's GII Holy Bull S. and GII Fountain of Youth S., but regressed in the second half of his 3-year-old campaign and is still trying to recapture his top form. He was third in the favorite's Met Mile romp, but has been working well in the interim, notably breezing five furlongs from the gate in a bullet :58 4/5 (1/29) on this track July 22.
The “now” horse appears to be Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners' Comfort (Indian Charlie), a lightly raced 4-year-old who came to hand strongly at the Belmont spring/summer meet. The Todd Pletcher trainee registered a good-looking 3 1/4-length score in the State Dinner S. there July 4, earning a 105 Beyer.
Noble Bird (Birdstone) projects to be the controlling speed, a scenario that produced his 11 1/4-length rout in the GIII Pimlico Special May 20. The John C. Oxley colorbearer faded to sixth in the Met Mile last time out.
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