by Mike Curry
Frost Giant battled back gamely after he was headed by Solar Flare (Arg) in the stretch and inched away to earn his most important career victory in the $400,000 Suburban Handicap Presented by Shadwell Farm (G1) on Saturday at Belmont Park.
Sent off as the longest shot in the eight-horse field at odds of 40-to-1 in the 122nd edition of the Suburban, Frost Giant earned his first career graded stakes win with a half-length score in the Suburban. A two-time Group 3 winner in Ireland, where he began his racing career with trainer Aidan O’Brien, Frost Giant was unplaced in three previous graded stakes races since he was shipped to the United States for the 2006 Joe Hircsh Turf Classic Invitational Stakes (G1).
A. P. Arrow, the 1.25-to-1 favorite, was fractious in the starting gate, broke in the air, and dropped back to trail the field. Frost Giant dueled for the early lead with Solar Flare through an opening quarter in :24.30 before Naughty New Yorker moved forward to seize command through a half-mile in :48.55. Frost Giant regained the lead through six furlongs in 1:12.03 under Rudy Rodriguez but Solar Flare stayed right with him as the pair dueled into the stretch.
Solar Flare edged past from the outside in the stretch but Frost Giant would not be denied and dug in from the inside to draw even at the eighth pole. Frost Giant gradually inched ahead of Solar Flare and prevailed in 2:01.58 to give Rodriguez his first career Grade 1 win.
“Rudy [Rodriguez], I’ve got to tell you, gave this horse a very good ride,” said winning trainer Richard Dutrow Jr., who trains Frost Giant for IEAH Stables, Andrew Cohen, and Pegasus Holding Group Stables. “He rode him great, man. Usually, he’s go, go, go. But I am so happy for him.
“For the last two or three weeks, this horse settled down in the mornings. This was mostly Rudy, not just today, but in the mornings. You could see it happening. The owners paid a lot of money for this horse, and it worked out great.
Frost Giant entered off a runner-up finish in a 1 1/16-mile allowance/optional claiming race on turf on May 29 at Monmouth Park, but Rodriguez could see him improving leading up to his Grade 1 win.
“I get on him in the morning, and he has really been different lately,” Rodriguez said. “We’ve had him a few years, but he seems to have a new attitude.”
Solar Flare was three lengths clear of third-place finisher Rising Moon, also trained by Dutrow. A. P. Arrow never threatened while finishing sixth.
A winner of four of 13 starts, Frost Giant more than doubled his bankroll to $454,254 and provided some relief to Dutrow, who was issued a 15-day suspension this week by Kentucky stewards for a clenbuterol positive that has led to considerable criticism. He also is still seeking an answer for dual classic winner Big Brown’s disappointing effort in the Belmont Stakes (G1).
“I’ll be all right now,” Dutrow said. “This gets me back in the game.”
For an Equibase chart, click here.
Mike Curry is a Thoroughbred Times TODAY editor