Frosted Stands Alone in the $1,250,000 Whitney

Frosted proved that his Met Mile romp was no fluke as he ran an effortless Whitney for the ages, but the real story was how a 1-2 favorite in the day’s biggest race could still be a part of a $1826 pick-3 and a $106,696 pick-6.

Frosted paid a mere $3.00, $2.50, and $2.10, 2nd place Comfort paid $4.40 and $3.20, while Upstart returned $3.70 to show. But the real money was collected on the multi-race wagers thanks to 55-1 shot Paola Queen’s win in Saratoga’s 8th race, the Grade 1 Test Stakes. The $2 pick-3 returned $1826, while the $2 pick-6, which concluded with Saratoga’s 11th race, returned $106,969.

Even horse racing’s best ever, Secretariat, lost in Saratoga’s Whitney Stakes 2 months after his 1973 triple crown, so it shouldn’t have been a given that this year’s odds-on favorite, Frosted, was going to romp in the 2016 Whitney.

Frosted, whose morning line was 3-5, opened at 1-5 before settling at 1-2 with many ready to present him the trophy before they walked onto the track. That’s why they run the race anyway. Or maybe they should have saved time and sent Frosted straight to the winner’s circle.

Taking the lead in a snappy 23.11 first quarter and never looking back, Frosted cut the half mile in 46.42. At this point I was ready for the closers to make their moves but jockey Joel Rosario didn’t even ask Frosted to run. Effinex, ridden by Mike Smith, looked to have a perfect trip behind the hot pace and was ready to pounce but Frosted easily shrugged him off mid-stretch. After a slight tap of the whip to remind Frosted that there was still a race going on, the others succumbed to his dominance, leaving Todd Pletcher’s Comfort, and longshot Upstart to pick up the pieces for 2nd and 3rd respectively.

If you followed my advice and tried to beat Frosted with exactas, you took your small loss and lived to play another day. I stand by my opinion that no 1-2 shot is worth a win bet but damn do I wish I would have had that pick-6!

The magnitude of Frosted’s performance sets up the potential for a rematch with California Chrome later this year. The two powerhouses met in March of 2016 in Dubai for the world’s richest race, the Dubai World Cup, where Chrome toyed with the field and won going away. Frosted faded to 5th. While California Chrome currently has the edge as the best horse, the big move forward made by Frosted in the Met Mile and the Whitney have me excited for a Breeder’s Cup rematch with the possibility of horse of the year honors at stake.