Met Magic From Frosted
Frosted ran away with the G1 Mohegan Sun Metropolitan Handicap over a mile on dirt at Belmont Park, USA, on Saturday, June 11, breaking records for the widest winning margin and fastest running of the historic race.
Frosted ran away with the G1 Mohegan Sun Metropolitan Handicap over a mile on dirt at Belmont Park, USA, on Saturday, June 11, breaking records for the widest winning margin and fastest running of the historic race.
The four-year-old son of Tapit emerged from the stalls slightly slower than many of the 10-strong field and raced in eighth but his rider Joel Rosario did not get flustered.
He and Frosted, trained by Kiaran McLaughlin, moved up steadily on the inside, going seventh, sixth, fifth and then fourth just behind the leaders turning in.
Switched out wide, Frosted shot into the lead after straightening up and went clear, increasing his superiority all the time and had 14 and a quarter lengths to spare over the second Anchor Down at the line despite coasting home in the closing stages.
The previous widest winning margin for the Metropolitan Handicap was eight lengths.
The top-weight could not have been more impressive in the US$1.25-million race and the winning time was 1m 32.73s - a new stakes-record clocking and only just outside the track record of 1m 32.24s.
Kiaran McLaughlin said: "That was a wow - Frosted is a versatile horse, second in the Belmont Stakes (G1, 1m 4f) last year and he has come back to run like this over a mile in 2016 against such a good group - it is amazing.
"We are very excited and Joel rode a great race. Frosted has stayed sound and he has been doing great all along - he went to Dubai and came back - he is a special horse.
"It is great to see him get a win like this. He was always travelling so well over this mile, a distance he had not raced at for a long time.
"A lot of people have said to me that they have not seen a performance like this before.
"He is most likely to run next in the Whitney (G1, 1m 1f, Saratoga, August 6) and then maybe the Woodward (G1, 1m 1f, Saratoga, September 3) before the Breeders' Cup.
"We will worry about the Breeders' Cup later. It might be the Breeders' Cup Classic rather than the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile - we will see.
"Frosted is very talented and it was a great win for the whole team."
The other Godolphin runner, Marking, also trained by Kiaran McLaughlin, was drawn on the outside of the field but raced prominently from the start under Jose Lezcano.
Marking was fast away and took second before running a close third. The four-year-old Bernardini colt tried to challenge on the final bend and kept on to finish fourth.
Kiaran McLaughlin added: "Marking ran well in a tough race and broke much better which is encouraging."
