NYRA/Janet Garaguso
By Sarah Mace
Kelly Mitchell’s Bad Boy Racing homebred Kid Is Frosty doubled the fun for her connections when she added an extra furlong and negotiated “good” turf with aplomb to win her second straight New York Stallion Stakes series race on Wednesday at Saratoga, the $150,000 NYSS Statue of Liberty division for 3-year-old fillies by eligible New York sires.
Throwing down the gauntlet after the break, she led the field from gate to wire on her way to an unchallenged 3-length victory. Kid is Frosty is by Frost Giant, currently fourth in the New York sire rankings and standing at Irish Hill & Dutchess Views Stallions LLC in Stillwater.
Trained by Brad Cox, Kid Is Frosty came into the Statue of Liberty having never finished off-the-board in eight prior starts. A maiden-breaker on dirt going six furlongs at Aqueduct on February 23 in her fourth race, two starts later on April 20 she made her stakes debut in the NYSS Fifth Avenue, which was run on a sloppy racetrack at 6 1/2 furlongs. She managed to finish second – best of the rest – behind divisional star Newly Minted.
Two starts later in the NYSS Cupecoy’s Joy, Kid Is Frosty tackled a new surface – grass – and added another 110 yards. The experiment was a resounding success. After patiently tracking a front-running long-shot, she hit the lead in the stretch and was able to hold off strong closer Niko’s Dream for her first black type win.
Kid Is Frosty was a narrow second choice in the betting at odds of 8-5, edged in popularity by Niko’s Dream at 7-5, whose supporters presumably trusted that the late-running type would profit from the extra furlong in the rematch and be able to run Kid Is Frosty down. He missed by just a neck in the Cupecoy’s Joy and Kid Is Frosty was spotting her rivals five pounds on Wednesday.
Sharp out of the gate from post 5, Kid Is Frosty immediately showed her hand. She took the lead, angled to the rail and issued her challenge to Niko’s Dream and the rest: “Catch me if you can.”
Leading the field by 1 1/2 lengths through the clubhouse turn and up the backstretch, Kid Is Frosty clocked the early fractions in 24.37 and 48.18, with Bangle Gal (6-1) and Sterling Beauty (17-1) pursuing to her outside.
By the quarter pole Bangle Gal began to fade, but Niko’s Dream, three-wide, was winding up her closing bid, advancing into second from fourth.
NYRA/Chelsea Durand
Asked for a little more with three-sixteenths to go, Kid Is Frosty responded readily, and kicked clear. She crossed the finish line with a three-length advantage under a hand ride. Following six furlongs in 1:11.85, the final time for the mile over the “good” turf was 1:35.22.
Niko’s Dream in second finished another three lengths clear of Sterling Beauty in third, while Rossellini and Dancing Slipper finished fourth and fifth separated by a neck. Bangle Gal and Subsidiary completed the order of finish. [VIDEO REPLAY]
Ortiz, who had the call for both of Kid Is Frosty’s prior NYSS efforts, said, “The main thing was to relax her and when she broke, she relaxed going into the first turn. On the backside, she was still relaxed. I knew I was going to have something at the end, and she handled it really well.”
The pilot added that he had confidence in Kid Is Frosty going in. “[The turf]’s a little soft, but last time I rode her, I had to make a middle move and she still won. I had a lot of confidence in her today. If I had a clear trip and waited and just move at the quarter pole, I knew she was going to be the best and everything worked out well. She’s much better on turf. She has a turn-of-foot on turf, so I think she’s a little better on that.”
Brad Cox’s assistant Dustin Dugas concurred, but said that one concern he and his team had pre-race was the added distance. “I think she feels at home on the turf,” said Dugas. “I was a little concerned about making the mile today, but she was never in doubt. The plan was to play the break and go from there. I thought that Casse’s horse [Subsidiary] would’ve shown a little more speed, to be honest. I thought she was going to be on the lead but once our horse got to the front, she kicked on and was comfortable the entire way.”
Sporting a record of three wins, including a pair of NYSS victories, four seconds and two thirds from nine starts, Kid Is Frosty has earned $280,834.
Kid Is Frosty is the first foal out of Murmure, a placed runner by Lemon Drop Kid who last changed hands at public auction when purchased for $20,000 at the 2015 Keeneland November sale by Cecil Seaman. Her most recent reported foal is a 2-year-old full to Kid Is Frosty sister named She’s Grrreat. She was bred this year to Blueskiesnrainbows.
