Kiaran McLaughlin was happier than most trainers when the Godolphin colt Frosted ended up with gate 15 at the post-position draw for Saturday's Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs. He was upbeat for two very good reasons.
Kiaran McLaughlin was happier than most trainers when the Godolphin colt Frosted ended up with gate 15 at the post-position draw for Saturday's Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs. He was upbeat for two very good reasons.
"Yes, I was pleased with that result," McLaughlin said. "I was dreading getting a gate on the inside. If you are in 1 or 2, you can get bottled up early.
"But in 15, we are in the first stall in the auxiliary gate (the second set of stalls), and that means Frosted will have a little bit of space on his immediate inside. He is out in the clear," he pointed out.
The other factor in the colt's favour, in the trainer's opinion, is that he will be ridden from behind. Don't expect him to be driven up to challenge for the early lead.
"We hope that he will be well settled in mid-pack. We expect a lot of speed in the race. He came from last when he won the Wood Memorial at Aqueduct," he added.
McLaughlin, who has won the Dubai World Cup, two Breeders' Cups and the Belmont Stakes, reckons this running of the Kentucky Derby is as strong as he has seen in the past couple of decades.
"It might be as tough a Kentucky Derby as there has been in many years. But I am happy with Frosted. I wouldn't trade him for any other horse in the field," he said.
McLaughlin is hopeful that the Classic will be run to suit the colt, who stands as the most serious contender to represent Godolphin in several attempts to land America's historic 'Run For The Roses.'
He remains optimistic for several reasons -- he admits he has made a number of important changes to Frosted's whole approach to the race -- but overall, he has believed from the first time the horse entered his stable that he was highly talented.
"There have been so many changes. I cut the blinkers back (reduced to half-cups), we switched jockeys, and we worked him many times in behind other horses and then asked him to pass them with authority. This was to stop him pulling himself up when he got to the lead.
"But the track surfaces have also been a big factor. When he was beaten (twice) at Gulfstream, the surfaces were deep and demanding. They were very slow. He has cantered over it here at Churchill Downs, and it has been more like he encountered at Aqueduct," he reported.
Bob Baffert sends out American Pharoah, who was brilliant in winning the Arkansas Derby, and Dortmund, the Santa Anita Derby winner, and both have strong claims.
But opposition also looms in the shape of Carpe Diem, runner-up in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile last year, and Materiality, who took the Florida Derby in his unbeaten sequence of three outings.
McLaughlin had the final word: "I was born and raised in Lexington, Kentucky, so nothing could be better for me than to train the Derby winner.
"But, no-one deserves to win it more than His Highness Sheikh Mohammed, whose commitment and passion to racing worldwide has been just incredible."
