Trainer McLaughlin considers next move for Frosted
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. _ Ten years ago, Invasor won the Grade 1 Whitney at Saratoga and, three months later _ without a race in between _ won the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Churchill Downs, capping a Horse of the Year campaign for trainer Kiaran McLaughlin and Sheikh Hamdan’s Shadwell Stable.
McLaughlin on Saturday won his second Whitney with Frosted, who will be pointed to the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic on Nov. 5 at Santa Anita. McLaughlin now must figure out the best way to get Frosted there.
McLaughlin, who noted in several interviews leading up to the Whitney that he thought significant time between starts benefitted Frosted, said Sunday he could run the 4-year-old son of Tapit back in four weeks in the Grade 1, $600,000 Woodward here Sept. 3. That would give Frosted nine weeks to the Classic.
A second option would be to skip the Woodward and have nine weeks to the $1 million Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont Park on Oct. 8, and then four weeks to the Classic.
A third option would be simply to attempt to train Frosted to the Breeders’ Cup Classic.
“I want to see the sheet numbers, and talk to everybody and make a plan,” said McLaughlin, who noted that Frosted came out of the race in good shape.
It is not lost on McLaughlin that Frosted ran his best race as a 3-year-old in the Grade 2 Pennsylvania Derby, which came three weeks after Frosted finished third in the Travers.
However, Frosted’s two most recent wins _ the Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap and the Whitney _ came with 77 days and 56 days, respectively, between starts.
“He ran his best race as a 3-year-old on all figures back in 21 days in the Pennsylvania Derby, so he could handle anything,” McLaughlin said. “It’s just that now that we’ve seen what he’s done with the time, it makes you want to think about time.”
In the case of Invasor, the three-month layoff was not planned. McLaughlin was going to run him in the Jockey Club Gold Cup, but Invasor developed a temperature that week and was forced to miss the race.
“It wasn’t planned that way, it just happened that way,” McLaughlin said.
Invasor had already proven himself at 1 1/4 miles _ the distance of the Classic _ having won the Suburban earlier in his championship season. Frosted is winless in three starts at 1 1/4 miles, which includes a fourth in the 2015 Kentucky Derby, a third in the Travers and a fifth to California Chrome in this year’s Dubai World Cup.
“I don’t think that we’re worried about the distance,” McLaughlin said. “Maybe we should be. I don’t think it’s a big deal the way he’s going right now.”
Frosted is going great guns right now. In the Whitney, he set rapid fractions under Joel Rosario _ six furlongs in 1:09.65 _ and kept on going. Frosted won by two lengths over Comfort, ran 1 1/8 miles in 1:47.77, and earned a 107 Beyer Speed Figure, his second-best number surpassed only by the 123 he earned in winning the Met Mile.
“It was an awesome performance by an awesome horse,” McLaughlin said. “He’s just gotten better and better for whatever reasons. He’s 4 now, and he’s filled out a little bit more and doing great.”
Perhaps a bigger deal to McLaughlin is the fact he hasn’t had any success at Santa Anita, the site of this year’s Breeders’ Cup. He is winless with 17 starters at Santa Anita and went a combined 0 for 12 in Breeders’ Cup races from 2012-14.
“California hasn’t been our kindest of tracks as far as results as a team is concerned,” McLaughlin said.