Frost Giant | Horse Racing Free Tips

First Foal for Spendthrift Farm’s Yaupon

Spendthrift Farm's Grade I winner Yaupon (Uncle Mo) sired a colt, his first reported foal, on Jan. 13 at Rockridge Stud in Hudson, New York.

Bred by Rockridge Stud, Saratoga Glen Farm and Pete Beals, the dark bay is out of MSW Frost Giant mare Frostie Anne, an earner of $584,443.

“This colt is good sized, born at around 122 pounds. He's very balanced and correct, and you can tell he's going to have a big hip,” said Lere Visagie, owner of Rockridge Stud. “I've had three foals out of this mare and every foal has been better than the one before. I'm quite happy with this Yaupon.”

Trained by Steve Asmussen, Yaupon won six of his eight races including the first four starts of his career in 2020. Those wins included the GII Amsterdam S. at Saratoga and GIII Chick Lang S. at Pimlico, and he was the favorite in that year's GI Breeders' Cup Sprint as a 3-year-old. Yaupon's 4-year-old campaign was highlighted by the final race of his career, when he won the GI Forego S. at Saratoga.

Campaigned by Bill and Corinne Heiligbrodt, the son of leading sire Uncle Mo earned $703,264. He is out of the Grade I-placed Vindication mare Modification.

Yaupon is set to stand his second season at stud at Spendthrift for a fee of $30,000 S&N.

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Grade I Winner, New York Stallion Frost Giant Dies

Grade I winner and longtime New York sire Frost Giant (Giant's Causeway–Takesmybreathaway, by Gone West) was euthanized from complications of laminitis Monday and buried not far from his paddock and barn at ReRun, Inc., a Thoroughbred retraining and adoption organization in East Greenbush, NY. He was 19 years old.

Bought by Coolmore for $600,000 at Keeneland September in 2004, the chestnut started his career in Europe with Aidan O'Brien, winning the G3 Killavullan S. as a juvenile and the G3 Kilternan S. the following year. He eventually was moved to the U.S., where he raced for various partnerships that included IEAH Stables, Andrew Cohen, Sanford Robbins, Pegasus Holdings Group. He reached his career pinnacle in 2008, pulling a 40-1 shocker in the GI Suburban S. for trainer Rick Dutrow and jockey Rudy Rodriguez. He entered stud in 2009 at Empire Stud in New York and later stood at Vinery, Keane Stud and Irish Hill Century Farms before being pensioned last January.

“If I was in the barn and shouted at him, he would always call back,” said Lisa Molloy, executive director of ReRun. “He would give you a run for his money, always want to jack with everybody. But not a mean bone in him though. He just liked to kind of spice life up a bit. He was a rock star. I'm pleased he came into our lives. I really, really enjoyed having him. It just sucks. I was hoping we'd have a little longer with Frosty, but once the spark had gone out you know that it was it.”

Frost Giant has sired 244 winners, 19 stakes winners and the earners of $22,537,016 in 12 crops. His most successful progeny is Giant Expectations, a multiple graded stakes winner who banked over $1.3 million in his racing career. He also sired Australian Group 2 winner and millionaire Valour Road.

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MGSW Giant Expectations Retired

Dual graded stakes winner Giant Expectations (Frost Giant–Sarahisittrue, by Is It True) has been retired from racing and will stand the upcoming breeding season at a location still to be determined pending sale of the horse either privately or at auction.

Giant Expectations was trained by Eurton for Exline-Border Racing, David Bernsen, Gatto Racing, and partners, who issued a release: “The current ownership group and management unanimously elected to retire Giant Expectations in the best interests of the horse, and are excited to follow his next career as a stallion.”

In a career that spanned five seasons and 25 starts, the earner of $1,343,600 hit the board in 13 starts, including wins in the 2017 seven-panel GII Pat O’Brien S. and 2017 8 1/2-furlong

GII San Antonio S., the latter victory a gate-to-wire effort defeating Eclipse Award 2018 champion Accelerate (Lookin At Lucky) and Grade I winners Collected (City Zip) and Hopportunity (Any Given Saturday).

“Giant Expectations was one of the best horses I had the pleasure to ride over my career,” said Hall of Fame jockey Gary Stevens, who was in the irons for some of Giant’s biggest races including both the Pat O’Brien and San Antonio wins. “He was a great looking horse, with the stride and the movement to go

with it, long and fluid..a beautiful stride and a powerful stretch run.”

Added trainer Peter Eurton, “He’s always had tremendous speed, stamina, and resilience. He’s a perfectly built horse. Very sound and a gorgeous individual.”

“This is the type of horse you miss the most when they leave,” said Eurton. “Anybody who breeds to him is going to be very happy.”

Giant Expectations is from the Storm Cat male line and has been relocated to Kentucky as a stallion prospect and will be available for viewing near Keeneland beginning next week. To arrange a viewing please call 805-712-1395.

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Flagstaff Faces Giant Expectations In ‘Win And You’re In’ Pat O’Brien Stakes

Flagstaff is a lovely, little town in the mountains of Northern Arizona. Flagstaff is also a very fast racehorse who could be tough to beat at Del Mar Saturday afternoon in the 35th running of the Pat O'Brien Stakes.

The O'Brien, a seven-panel spin for 3-year-olds and up, carries a purse of $150,000 and Grade II status. It also is a Breeders' Cup “Win & You're In” race that guarantees the victor entry with all fees paid to the $2,000,000 BC Dirt Mile to be run on Saturday, November 7 at Keeneland in Kentucky.

Flagstaff, the horse, is a 6-year-old gelding by 2004 sprint champion Speightstown who has been judiciously spotted and raced by trainer John Sadler for the Kentucky-bred's owners — Lanes End Racing or Hronis Racing. He didn't make it to the races until his 4-year-old season and only shows 13 starts in total. Five of them have been wins, though — the last two coming in stakes at the O'Brien's seven-furlong distance — and he sports earnings that read $485,785.

Hall of Fame rider Victor Espinoza, who has been aboard in most of the horse's starts, has the call again Saturday and they'll break from Post 4 in the eight-horse lineup.

The chief treat to Flagstaff is likely to be the comebacking Giant Expectations, a 7-year-old horse by Frost Giant who races for the partnership of David Bernsen and Exline-Border Racing and is trained by Peter Eurton. The winner of $1,336,600 will be making his first start in nearly 10 months and gets Del Mar's leading rider, Umberto Rispoli, along for the outing.

Giant Expectations has a history with both the Pat O'Brien and the BC Dirt Mile. He won the former back in 2017 as a 4-year-old, then ran second in it last year. He's run in the BC Dirt Mile the last three years, though he hasn't had much success in the race. The 2019 BC Dirt Mile on November 2 at Santa Anita was his most recent start.

Here's the full O'Brien field from the rail out with riders and morning line odds:

Agnew, Schneider or Xitco's Law Abidin Citizen (Abel Cedillo, 5-1); Little Red Feather Racing and Vanderslice's P R Radio Star (Juan Hernandez, 6-1); Gust or Warren's Manhattan Up (Tiago Pereira, 15-1); Flagstaff (5/2); Tom Kagele's C Z Rocket (Flavien Prat, 4-1); Slam Dunk Racing or MyRacehorse.com's Vertical Threat (Heriberto Figueroa, 8-1); Giant Expectations (7/2), and Doubledown Stables' Blameitonthelaw (Drayden Van Dyke, 12-1).

C Z Rocket is the lone out-of-towner to tackle the local sprinters. California trainer Peter Miller claimed the City Zip gelding for $40,000 at Oaklawn Park this past April and subsequently won three straight races with him in Kentucky. He was shipped to Monmouth Park in New Jersey in July, but never started there. He's won seven races and $341,641.

Law Abidin Citizen was the third-place finisher in the six-furlong Bing Crosby Stakes earlier in the Del Mar meet. The 6-year-old gelding by Twirling Candy has won seven races and more than $500,000, all out of the barn of trainer Mark Glatt.

P R Radio Star will be trying to win his first stakes race in his 31st start. The 5-year-old gelding by Warrior's Reward has won twice already at the current Del Mar meet, taking a pair of allowance sprints.

First post for the 11-race Saturday card is 2 p.m.

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