Kentucky Derby 2015 - Frosted Pedigree Profile

In a move reminiscent of his sire’s Wood Memorial victory, FROSTED iced his foes on Saturday without being asked for his best. In the early stages of the Grade 1 event, the pretty gray colt settled at the back of the pack, sixth in a field of seven colts.

Jockey Joel Rosario kept his mount out of trouble on the far outside.  Frosted responded to slight urging around the far turn, galloping off to a two length victory over longshot Tencendur in the 1 1/8 mile race without Rosario resorting to the whip. Frosted’s final time was 1:50.31, a full second slower than 2004 Wicked Strong, but not too far off of his sire’s winning time of 1:49.71 in 2004.  

FROSTED (Tapit - Fast Cookie, by Deputy Minister) is a Darley homebred, and races under the royal blue colors of Godolphin Racing.  Conditioned by Kiaran McLaughlin, Frosted jumped onto everyone’s early Triple Crown watch list with a huge move in the Remsen Stakes as a two-year-old. In his first start at three, Frosted was second in the Holy Bull Stakes. He was expected to build off of that effort in the Fountain of Youth, but finished a well beaten fourth. 

Knowing that his charge was more talented than that he showed in the Fountain of Youth, Kiaran McLaughlin went back to the drawing board. He shipped Frosted back to Aqueduct, had a minor throat surgery performed to make sure the colt wasn’t flipping his palate, added blinkers, and subtracted one jockey, switching from Irad Ortiz to Joel Rosario. The effort paid off, and now Frosted has banked $836,800 in a 7-2-4-0 race career and has 113 2015 Kentucky Derby qualifying points.

Sire:

TAPIT (Pulpit – Tap Your Heels, by Unbridled) started only twice as s two year old and won the Laurel Futurity (G-2) in his second start.  His three year old season was delayed early due to shin problems, but he recovered to be ambitiously entered in the Florida Derby.  His sixth place finish was explained away by a lung infection.  The gray colt recovered to race just four weeks later.  In the 2004 Wood Memorial, Tapit made a sustained drive to win the race by ½ length. Tapit’s entry into the Kentucky Derby was too much too soon for the colt, as he finished ninth without ever making a bid.  Tapit had a reoccurrence of his lung infection and missed the rest of the summer. He raced once more, again finishing ninth, this time in the Pennsylvania Derby (G-2).  Tapit retired with a 6-3-0-0 ($557,300) record.

Tapit is a son of sire-of-sires Pulpit and a grandson of the Intermediate/Classic Chef de Race A.P. Indy. He retired to Gainsway Farm for an initial stud fee of $15,000.  Tapit quickly gained attention as major sire and within just eight years, has sired six champions and almost 40 graded stakes winners.  He gets a remarkable 7% stakes winners and 8% stakes placed runners.  The average for the typical stallion is closer to 3 or 4% stakes winners.  This success has caused Tapit’s stud fee to soar to $300,000.

At stud, Tapit has stepped into the horse shoes of his deceased sire, Pulpit.  Tapit’s proven his versatility, getting winners over all surfaces, although ¾ of his babies race over the dirt. The majority of his offspring are best up to 1 1/8 miles, although he has proven entirely capable of getting winners at classic distances.  Tapit’s progeny range from precocious to late maturing types and everything in between.  His stakes winning offspring at  1 ¼ miles and beyond include last year’s Belmont Stakes and Jockey Club Gold Cup winner Tonalist; Alabama Stakes heroine Careless Jewel, Hawthorne Gold Cup victor Headache, and Testa Matta, winner of the Japan Dirt Derby.

Female Family:

Frosted has four siblings. Two half siblings are unraced. His full sister Macaroon has won three of nine starts and Frosted’s half sister With Sugar On Top (Unbridled) has won three of ten starts. Both are allowance class runners. Frosted has a two year old half sister by Bernardini named Indulgent and an unnamed yearling sister by that same sire.  

Frosted’s dam FAST COOKIE (Deputy Minister - Fleet Lady, by Avenue of Flags) is a multiple stakes winning miler. She needed some time to win her maiden as a two year old, but managed to earn some blacktype before turning three. Fast Cookie’s most lucrative victory was a 3 ¾ length win in the 1 1/6 mile Cotillion Handicap (G-2).  During her career, Fast Cookie won or placed in ten stakes races over dirt and turf up to 1 1/16 miles.  The sturdy mare raced for four years and compiled a 31-9-4-7 ($557,480) race record.

Fast Cookie is a half sister to Champion Juvenile and well-regarded sire Midshipman (Unbridled’s Song). A half sister, Fleeting Touch (Touch Gold) bore two Australian Group winning milers.  Frosted’s second dam Fleet Lady won stakes races from seven furlongs to 1 1/8 miles, including the Grade Two contests, the El Encino and La Canada Stakes. She won ten of twenty-three starts and earned honors as California Champion Three Year Old Filly.   Fleet Lady was the only blacktype earner born of her dam Dear Mimi (Roberto).  Tapit’s fifth dam Carnival Queen is a blue hen. Her progeny include Italian Champion Carnauba and other stakes winners.

DEPUTY MINISTER (Vice Regent - Mint Copy, by Bunty's Flight) was named U.S. Two Year Old of 1981 and Canada’s Champion Two Year Old and Horse of the Year in 1981. He failed to win only once in nine starts at two.  The Canadian-bred raced only three times as a three year old, but kicked into gear at four, earning victories in the Donn Handicap (G-1) and Tom Fool Stakes (G-2). Deputy Minister won graded stakes races from five furlongs to 1 1/8 miles and placed in the 1 ¼ mile Meadowlands Handicap.

At stud, Deputy Minister continued to excel. He was the leading sire in North America two years running (1997 & 1998) and took leading broodmare sire honors in 2007. Although he died in 2004, he remains at the top of the broodmare sire list year after year. His daughters have produced Belmont Stakes winners Savara, Jazil, Rags to Riches and ironically, Curlin, who was second to Rags to Riches in their historic Belmont battle. Deputy Minister’s daughters have also produced Breeders’ Cup Marathon winner Man of Iron and the Champion Two Year Old filly Halfbridled.

Frosted’s second damsire, the California regional stallion Avenue of Flags, adds miler speed to the colt’s pedigree. His offspring include Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint hero California Flag, Grade 2 winning miler Joey Franco, downhill turf stakes specialist Cambiocorsa and Oak Leaf Stakes (G-1) heroine Notable Career.

The Tapit/Deputy Minster bloodline cross has produced ten starters, all are winners and three own blacktype;  Frosted, Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile hero Tapizar and Draw It, who placed in the Gazelle Handicap (G-2) and Proud Spell Stakes, both at 1 1/8 miles.

Outlook:

Frosted has his sire’s gray coloring and physical stature.  He’s an average sized colt with an athletic, well-balanced build.  Frosted runs straight with no padding or drifting, although he does have high knee action. He successfully switched his mid-pack and closer running style to that of a stalker in the Wood Memorial. The fractions of the race were glacial early on, yet the gray outclassed the field with little effort.  

Frosted’s distaff line is miler/middle distance in scope, however with Frosted’s new running style, shiny new blinkers and jockey switch, he may be able to handle 1 ¼ miles. The Kentucky Derby is shaping up with a lot of speed and horses who can relax off of the pace may have the advantage. On the negative side, Wood Memorial runners haven’t managed better than a fourth place finish since 2003.  Should Frosted win the Kentucky Derby, he’ll fulfill the decade’s long quest of Godolphin to win America’s greatest race.