Frost Point surged past leader Hidden Connection. (Coady Photography)
Keeneland Press Release
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Godolphin’s homebred Frost Point, surged past longtime leader Hidden Connection in the final 30 yards to post a three-quarters of a length victory in the 28th running of the $300,000 Baird Doubledogdare (G3) for fillies and mares Friday afternoon.
Trained by Bill Mott and ridden by Flavien Prat, Frost Point completed the 1 1/16 miles over a fast track in 1:43.95. The victory is the second in the race for Mott, who won the 2009 running with Indescribable.
Hidden Connection won the race to the first turn and led the field of six through uncontested fractions of :24.03 and :48.26 while being tracked by Green Up.
On the far turn, Hidden Connection was confronted by Green Up, and the two came to the top of the stretch on even terms. Frost Point began to close in from the back of the pack, splitting horses in upper stretch and driving past the leaders on the far outside.
Frost Point is a 5-year-old Kentucky-bred daughter of Frosted out of the Timber Country mare Balletto (UAE). The victory, her third in a row and first in a graded stakes, was worth $183,675 and increased her earnings to $446,235 with a record of 11-5-3-2.
Frost Point returned $11.06, $5.86 and $3.76. Hidden Connection, ridden by Rey Gutierrez, returned $8.46 and $4.40 and finished 1½ lengths in front of Green Up, who paid $3.44 to show under Irad Ortiz Jr.
Favored Interstatedaydream was another half-length back in fourth and was followed in order by Shotgun Hottie and Traverse.
Quotes for the $300,000 Baird Doubledogdare (G3)
Bill Mott (winning trainer of Frost Point): On her improvement in her past few races: “Over the summer, she put on weight and started looking better. She’s come back very well. She’s three-for-three now (beginning Dec. 30 at Aqueduct in her first start since May). This was a very good race, and she beat a really solid field.”
On whether she will continue to run longer races like today’s 1 1/16-mile Baird Doubledogdare
“I don’t think she’s limited to that. She won at a mile last time (in the Heavenly Prize Invitational Stakes at Aqueduct Feb. 18) and at a mile-and-a-sixteenth. We’ve seen in the past that we thought she could get a mile-and-an-eighth, nine furlongs. So, the thing is, if she keeps running the way she is, I guess this type of race is good for her.”
Flavien Prat (winning rider): “She jumped well, but then I got squeezed a little bit so we backed up a little bit. I was a little further back than I wished I could be, but she was traveling well all the way around. All the way around the turn I felt like she was going to make a good move. As soon as I tipped her out and got her in the clear, she really extended herself and kicked on well.”
Rey Gutierrez (rider of runner-up Hidden Connection): “Beautiful trip, no excuse. Got beat by a better horse today, got run down. Congrats to Flavien.”
Irad Ortiz Jr. (rider of third-place finisher Green Up): “She had a great effort.”
Florent Geroux (rider of fourth-place finisher and beaten favorite Interstatedaydream): “Broke good. I just followed the horse on the lead, Hidden Connection. I was tracking them. I could tell when I came past the half mile, I was out of horse. I was just trying really hard to keep my position, and they kept getting away from me. Just not sure if it was the track or bounce back from the first race off the layoff. We could have made the lead maybe, but honestly I wish she would have finished a little bit better. A little bit disappointed about the result to be honest.”
Notes:
Tyler Gaffalione on Friday posted the first four-win day of the Spring Meet; three of those victories came for trainer Brendan Walsh.
Gaffalione, who opened up a 16-12 lead over Luis Saez in the race for the season’s leading rider, won the fourth, eighth and 10th races for Walsh. Godolphin’s Loved ($3.18), a half-sister to two-time Grade 1 winner Maxfield, won the fourth; Hunter Valley Farm, Debra O’Connor, Mrs. Paul Shanahan and Marc Detampel’s Viareggio (IRE) ($10.56) took the eighth; and Qatar Racing, Detampel and Fergus Galvin’s Reckoning Force ($15.90) won the 10th.
Donamire Farm’s Appeal Denied ($5.46) won the sixth race for Gaffalione.
Racing continues Saturday afternoon with a 10-race program that begins at 1 p.m. ET and features two graded stakes: the $350,000 Elkhorn (G2) at 1½ miles on the turf that is the eighth race at 4:44 p.m. and the $300,000 Ben Ali (G3) for 4-year-olds and up going 1 3/16 miles on the main track that is the ninth race at 5:16 p.m.
