Frostie Anne overcomes gate jitters in Biogio's Rose

Frostie Anne was reluctant to load into the gate twice prior to the $105,375 Biogio's Rose Stakes at Aqueduct on Sunday, but once her stall door opened she was more than willing to participate.

Drawn in post 1, Frostie Anne was stubborn entering the gate. When Split Time in post 2 flipped and was scratched, the field was unloaded. After a delay of about 10 minutes, Frostie Anne was not at all keen to re-enter the starting enclosure.

After being coaxed back in by the gate crew, she broke midpack in the one-mile race for New York-bred fillies and mares and then moved up to take the early lead inside Bonita Bianca. Frostie Anne opened a clear lead on the backstretch with 7-2 Bonita Bianca and 2-1 favorite No Hayne No Gayne tracking her in second and third.

Frostie Anne, who was making her second start with blinkers for trainer Rudy Rodriguez, clipped off fractions of 23.25, 46.51, and 1:11.21 under jockey Hector Diaz Jr. Entering the stretch it was clear nobody behind her could offer a serious challenge and she widened her advantage to win by six lengths while stopping the timer in 1:37.32.

"She just went easy up front," Diaz said. "She likes to be on the lead and Rudy had the blinkers on her today, which helped her stay focused. When I asked her for more, she did it easy."

She paid $21.40 as the second-longest price in the field.

Midnight Disguise, who was coming off an eight-month injury-related layoff, offered a mild and belated bid to finish second, a length ahead of Bonita Bianca. It was a half-length farther back to No Hayne No Gayne in fourth.

Rodriguez claimed Frostie Anne, a 6-year-old daughter of Frost Giant, for $25,000 in December 2017. She made her stakes debut in January 2018 and scored her initial stakes victory in the Saratoga Dew last August. Her surprisingly easy win Sunday ended a four-race losing streak.

"I have to give all the credit to Hector," Rodriguez said. "He's been breezing her in the mornings and he's really gotten to know her. I just told him not to fight her, to let her do what she's comfortable doing being up front."

Frostie Anne, whom Rodriguez owns in partnership with Michael Imperio, is now 14 for 36 with earnings of $528,063.

Split Time, who was scratched on the advice of the track veterinarian, walked off the track under her own power. Her trainer, Linda Rice, said on social media, "She needed some staples for a cut on her head and has some superficial cuts on her legs, but she will heal and be fine going forward."