Grade 1 winner Frost Giant euthanized at age 19

Grade 1 winner Frost Giant was euthanized from complications of laminitis on Monday. The 19-year-old son of Giant’s Causeway had resided as a pensioner at the ReRun Thoroughbred retraining and adoption farm in East Greenbush, N.Y., since early last year.

The stallion served as an ambassador for the aftercare organization, which has taken in several of the stallion’s retired offspring over the years, including multiple stakes winner West Hills Giant.

“He was a rock star,” ReRun executive director Lisa Molloy said. “I’m pleased he came into our lives. I really, really enjoyed having him. It just sucks. You always hope that you’ll find them in the field one day, that they just lay down. I was hoping we’d have a little longer with Frosty, but once the spark had gone out you know that it was it.”

Frost Giant began his racing career in Europe, winning the Group 3 Killavullan Stakes as a 2-year-old and Group 3 Kilternan Stakes as a 3-year-old, both in Ireland. He was later sent to the United States to campaign, scoring his biggest career victory in the Grade 1 Suburban Handicap in 2008 at Belmont.

Frost Giant stood his entire Northern Hemisphere career in New York, as he entered stud for the Sunrise Stallions at Vinery New York at Sugar Maple Farm in 2009. He led New York’s freshman sire list in 2012. He went on to consistently rank on the state's leading sire list as he moved to Keane Stud for the 2013 season, and later stood at Irish Hill and Dutchess Views Stallions in Stillwater from 2018 to 2020. He also shuttled to Chile and Australia during his career.

Frost Giant is the sire of 19 career stakes winners to date, led by multiple Grade 2-winning millionaire Giant Expectations and multiple stakes winners Baby Boss, Comandante, Frostie Annie, Frosty Margarita, Kid Is Frosty, Loki's Vengeance, and West Hills Giant. Internationally, he is the sire of Australian Group 2 winner and millionaire Valour Road.

Frost Giant has seven current 2-year-olds and six yearlings from his final crops.