Darley announced today that three-time grade I winner Frosted will retire to Jonabell Farm near Lexington for the 2017 breeding season and will stand for $50,000.
Dan Pride, chief operating officer of Godolphin in America, said: "It's very special to retire a horse of Frosted's caliber but even more so in that he accomplished so much as a homebred, racing in Sheikh Mohammed's Godolphin silks. His (grade I Mohegan Sun) Metropolitan Handicap was one for the ages, and add to that his great pedigree and tremendous physical appearance and you've got all the pieces in place for a sire of the future."
In addition to the Metropolitan Handicap, the 4-year-old son of Tapit also won the grade I Whitney Stakes at Saratoga and the Al Maktoum Challenge Round 2 (UAE-II) this year and placed in the grade I Woodward Stakes. At 3 he won the TwinSpires.com Wood Memorial (gr. I) and the grade II Pennsylvania Derby. He also placed second in the Belmont Stakes presented by DraftKings behind Triple Crown winner American Pharoah and finished third in the Travers Stakes (both gr. I).
"It was an honor and a pleasure to train a horse like Frosted," said trainer Kiaran McLaughlin. "Without a doubt, he's one of the best that I've had the privilege of training. I look forward to having a few of his babies in the barn in the future."
In the Metropolitan Handicap, Frosted registered one of the year's strongest performances, breaking the stakes record in a final time of 1:32.73, while winning by 14 1/4 lengths, the largest margin in the race's. His final time was just two-fifths of a second off the track record.
His 123 Beyer Speed Figure earned in the Met Mile is the best of 2016 and is also the highest Beyer registered in the past nine years. In addition, his -8.5 Thoro-Graph number is the fastest ever recorded.
He retires as Tapit's highest-earning U.S.-based runner with $3,972,800 and a 6-6-2 record out of 19 starts. His dam is the grade II-winning Deputy Minister mare Fast Cookie, a half sister to Eclipse champion 2-year-old colt and Bessemer Trust Breeders' Cup Juvenile (gr. I) winner Midshipman , who also stands as a Darley stallion.