Sales Debut for Darley Duo of Frosted, Nyquist

In 2017, Darley added two multiple Grade I winners to its stallion roster at Jonabell Farm: Nyquist (Uncle Mo), the first unbeaten 2-year-old champion to win the GI Kentucky Derby since Seattle Slew, and Frosted (Tapit), the fastest-ever winner of the GI Met Mile. Both will have their first foals go through the ring at this fall's breeding stock sales. TDN International Editor Kelsey Riley caught up with Darley's Darren Fox to talk about the two sires.

KR: What are you seeing, and hearing from others, about the first foals of Nyquist and Frosted?

DF: We have spent a lot of the spring and summer traveling around to our clients' farms to inspect the first foals by Frosted and Nyquist. We're very happy with what we have been seeing, and very happy with breeders' comments. To start with Frosted, not only is the mare's Frosted foal the mare's best foal to date; frequently the Frosted foal is the best foal on their respective farms, so we're getting very strong comments from breeders on the Frosted foals consistently. The chatter is certainly starting early, and even people who don't have a Frosted foal have been saying similar things, which is always great to hear. And similarly on Nyquist, he's just getting foals that have tremendous athleticism, they have great mental constitution like their sire, and are just very well-balanced, very well-made foals that look like they will continue to develop and make exceptional yearlings. We're getting very strong comments from respected breeders, which is the ultimate acid test in my mind.

KR: Nyquist and Frosted were, by quite a wide margin, the top two freshman covering sires at last year's breeding stock sales.

DF: They were the first and second most expensive incoming freshmen of their class, Frosted at $50,000, Nyquist at $40,000, and they remain first and second for mare and foal averages. Nyquist was first with a $309,000 average and his in-foal mares sold for up to $1.3-million, and that was Land Over Sea (Bellamy Road). But Frosted, he was actually highest by median with a $255,000 median, and he ranked second by average at $235,000. So they were first and second by mares-in-foal average, so we're hoping that they should figure prominently with their first weanlings.

KR: Can you tell us about the types of mares Nyquist and Frosted have been getting during their first two years at stud?

DF: Nyquist was way oversubscribed in year one; it was actually quite difficult managing his book. In year two, he was booked full by early January. So he really is that rare horse that will book full at full fee and will carry that demand through, likely, his first four years at stud, which really is the perfect scenario when retiring a young horse to stud. But his body of work, his sire, his physical, his every attribute just lends itself to strong demand from the marketplace, so he really is a stallion master's dream when it comes to marketing and promotion. When you're a horse of Nyquist's caliber, it really doesn't take much to keep him in people's minds. I think the fact that he's the best by Uncle Mo–and we've seen what Uncle Mo has done–and when people come to the farm to see the stallions, he's on the tip of everyone's tongue. It really doesn't take much effort on our part to keep him in people's conscience. Frosted bred the best book of mares of any of the freshman class, judged on CI and CPI, and that's no surprise given he was the most expensive stallion at $50,000. One would expect a book of mares of such quality to go along with such a stud fee, but it's very gratifying to see the marketplace respond and send him mares of the caliber that they did. With Frosted, no matter how you critique a stallion prospect, whether you're looking for sire power, he's by Tapit. Whether you're looking for a strong broodmare sire, he's out of a Deputy Minister mare. If you're looking for female family, his first two dams are Grade II winners. If you're looking for proven sires in the pedigree, he has two: he has Midshipman and Salse. And if you're looking for race record, he's obviously Tapit's leading money earner in the U.S. and his highest-rated runner. So if you wrap all that up and include his jaw-dropping physical, I really feel like Frosted is the complete package, and he certainly looks like the heir apparent to Tapit.