Frostmourne brings maturity into Kent Stakes

Frostmourne put it all together at the right time in his last start, relaxing early and finishing smartly to win the Grade 2, $500,000 Penn Mile. On Saturday at Delaware Park, he is well spotted to build on that effort in the Grade 3 Kent, a 1 1/8-mile turf stakes for 3-year-olds.

The Kent, race 8, is just prior to the Grade 1 Delaware Handicap and is preceded by two $50,000 stakes: the Carl Hanford and the Hockessin. The four races will comprise a pick four and will be legs of rolling pick threes and daily doubles. A second pick four begins in race 5, a first-level optional claimer for 2-year-olds, and concludes with the Kent.

Frostmourne, trained by Christophe Clement, will be favored in the Kent over the Todd Pletcher-trained Master Plan. Pletcher has sent out two of the last three Kent winners, American Patriot a year ago and Divine Oath in 2014.

Frostmourne, 3 for 5, has shown talent from the beginning but has been rank early in some of his races. The Penn Mile, his second start as a 3-year-old, showed his progress.

“He is more mature this year,” Clement said. “He could run at 2, but he was erratic. He has matured nicely.”

Frostmourne could have gone to the $1.2 million Belmont Derby Invitational at 1 1/4 miles, but Clement and the colt’s owners and breeders, Richard and Sue Masson, opted for the shorter distance of the Kent.

“That was the question mark, if going from a mile to a mile and a quarter could be too big of a jump.” Clement said. “I think this is a nice step up in distance, going from a mile to a mile and an eighth.”

Irad Ortiz Jr. has ridden Frostmourne in his last three races and has helped get the son of Speightstown to relax in his workouts. Ortiz on Saturday will ride at Belmont Park, where he is battling his brother, Jose, for the riding title. He has the mount on Disco Partner for Clement in the Forbidden Apple Stakes.

Joel Rosario will ride Frostmourne.

“Irad has done an excellent job with this horse, but I think Rosario is a great substitute,” Clement said.

Clement and Rosario have won 73 races together over the years and have a 19 percent win average when they team up.

Master Plan finished third of 16 runners March 25 in the UAE Derby in Dubai. He has since been fifth to the undefeated Timeline in the Peter Pan Stakes and won the Stanton, the Delaware Park prep for the Kent.

The field also includes Stanton runner-up Adonis Creed, trained by Kiaran McLaughlin; Lunaire, who comes out of a productive optional claimer at Belmont; and Zinger, a half-brother to last year’s Del Cap winner, I’m a Chatterbox.

The Hanford, at 1 1/16 miles, is wide open. Adirondack King enters off a third in the Salvator Mile but is only one for his last 14.

The field also includes Ain’t Got Time, who is 5 for 9 at Delaware, and Mister Nofty, who won the Delp Memorial here last year and should improve off his 2017 debut.

Abiding Star broke slowly in a Belmont allowance race while making his 4-year-old debut, then rushed up into contention and bolted. He fits here off one of his better efforts.

In the six-furlong Hockessin, trainer David Jacobson has entered the complementary pair of Chief Lion and Eighty Three. Chief Lion is extremely fast but has distance issues, while Eighty Three does his best running from off the pace.

Never Gone South enters off a solid optional-claiming win at Laurel Park. The stakes-quality Always Sunshine comes back on a week’s rest after finishing ninth in the Grade 3 Parx Dash on turf.