Bred by Darley in Kentucky, Frosted competes in the royal blue of Godolphin Racing LLC. The gray homebred took two tries to break his maiden, but his initial win came in dominating fashion when he posted a 5 1/4-length victory going a mile at Aqueduct in October 2014.
Frosted quickly established himself as a Triple Crown contender one month later with a half-length second in the Remsen S. (G2) at Aqueduct. He opened his sophomore campaign with another runner-up effort on January 24 at Gulfstream Park. There, he overcame a bumpy start to be a rallying second in the Holy Bull S. (G2) as the 3-2 favorite, earning a 98 BRIS Speed rating in the process.
Trainer Kiaran McLaughlin kept the three-year-old at Gulfstream to take part in the February 21 Fountain of Youth S. (G2) which, along with the Holy Bull, was a prep for the Florida Derby (G1) back at Gulfstream on March 28.
Frosted sported blinkers for the first time as he pressed the early pace on the outside in the Fountain of Youth before taking over and leading into the stretch. He bumped with eventual first-place race finisher Upstart, who was eventually disqualified to second, in midstretch and gave away in the final yards to be fourth on the wire as the 7-2 second choice.
The colt’s BRIS Speed rating dropped to an 89 for his Fountain of Youth effort, but rebounded in a big way in his final prep for the Kentucky Derby.
McLaughlin shook things up for Frosted following the Fountain of Youth. He sent Frosted from Florida back to Aqueduct, changed riders from Irad Ortiz Jr. to Joel Rosario, adjusted his blinkers, had a minor procedure done on his throat to eliminate any risk of a breathing problem, and worked him three-quarters of a mile behind two horses.
Frosted responded to all that with a rallying, two-length victory in the April 4 Wood Memorial (G1), Aqueduct major Kentucky Derby prep. The gray earned a 107 BRIS Speed rating for his first stakes win as well as an 108 BRIS E2 Pace figure and a 101 BRIS Late Pace number.
Frosted, a son of leading sire Tapit, is out of the Grade 2-winning mare Fast Cookie. His dam is a half-sister to champion and Breeders’ Cup Juvenile hero Midshipman, and this female family is also responsible for Group 1 winners Carnauba and Salse. Frosted’s second dam is dual Grade 2 victress Fleeting Lady.