Frostmourne mows down Penn Mile field
Showing an impressive turn of foot, Frostmourne surged late to notch his first graded victory in the Grade 2 Penn Mile Stakes.
Time to Travel won the break, scooting out from post 3 to establish the lead. Cistron, from post 4, went with him and settled to the outside of Time to Travel in a pace pressing position. Mo Maverick took up the third position, with Bronson in fourth and Frostmourne in fifth. Then came Holiday Stone, Big Score, Prize Fight, and Bonus Points.
With Cistron glued to his outside flank, Time to Travel posted splits of :23.00, :47.53, and 1:12.13. Swinging into the stretch, Cistron took over the lead from Time to Travel while Frostmourne was finding his best stride down the center of the track.
As the wire loomed, Cistron tried desperately to hang on to his lead, but Frostmourne and Big Score were closing quickly. Inside the final sixteenth, Frostmourne surged clear to win by 1 ¼-lengths over Big Score. Citron managed to hang on to third, 1 ½-lengths behind Big Score.
Mo Maverick, Holiday Stone, Bronson, Time to Travel, Bonus Points, and Prize Fight completed the order of finish.
“He had a great trip. I was a bit worried he was going to get caught three-wide down the backside but finally he (Irad Ortiz) put him two-wide and I was very confident around the turf because when he started letting him go, he was not asking him and then it was just a matter of time before he got to the lead” stated Christophe Lorieul, assistant trainer to Christophe Clement, after the race.
Winning jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr. said afterwards, “I’ve been working him the last month and a half maybe and we’ve taught him. Before, when he was a two-year-old, he was really rank and a little green maybe. But now, he’s settled down. We’ve taught him behind horses and he relaxed so good and when I got him out, he just did what he does in the morning.”
Frostmourne paid $8.40, $4.00, and $3.20 for the win. Favorite Big Score returned $2.80 and $2.20, and Cistron returned $3.20. The $1 exacta paid $11.50, the $0.50 trifecta returned $20.80, and the $0.10 superfecta was worth $23.49.
By Speightstown and out of the Theatrical mare Leaning Tower, Frostmourne was bred by and is owned by Green Lantern Stables. They attempted to sell him in the Keeneland 2015 September Yearling Sale, but the colt did not meet his reserve price. With today’s victory, Frostmourne has now won 3 of 5 starts for total purse earnings of $439,800.
As for what’s next for Frostmourne, Lorieul indicated, “Obviously that (the Belmont Derby) would be a choice but we’re going to enjoy this one first. We’re very happy for Green Lantern Stable, they’ve been very supportive of us.”