Frostmourne makes triumphant return to Action

19 Nov 2020

   Frostmourne, a 6-year-old gelding, has had a rough go of it since his highly successful early racing career.  A winner of the Awad (L) Stakes at Belmont as a freshman, he went on to capture the Penn Mile (G2) and Kent Stakes (G3) at age three. After that early success, he developed trouble finishing his races with interest.

   It was speculated that his inability to finish might be due to mechanical breathing issues.  We attempted to address this with a tie-back procedure which should have led to mitigating any impediments to free airflow during racing.  However, complications from the surgery developed as Frostmourne was prone to respiratory infections and coughing which interrupted training and made it difficult for him to reach top condition to regain competitiveness.

   At the same time, he remained a talented and sound horse otherwise.  After consultation with Drs. Gary and David Priest, we decided to undo the tie-back surgery.  The upside would be that he would no longer be prone to his respiratory ailments and worst case, he would be sound and healthy in retirement.  The big question was would he retain his desire to be a competitive racehorse and would his mechanical breathing situation allow him to be competitive?

   Frostmourne answered that question in a big way with a decisive three length win in a one mile turf classified allowance race at Churchill Downs on November 5.  Allowed an easy lead at the start, Frostmourne went wire to wire in 1:36:3 and was never seriously challenged in his first start for Eddie Kenneally.  It was also the first win for our stable with Eddie, who now has a few of our runners in his barn.

   Next up for Frostmourne might be a mid-December stakes run in Florida.  He has always run well when fresh and at this point, has earned all the patience he needs before running again.  It is rare that a win can be so uplifting and encouraging.  We decided to let him have another try and he responded by coming back in such a big way.  We don't know how far back he can come, but he has clearly earned his place at the farm at the end of his career.  His brothers in the gelding field will just have to wait until he's done.

Images
Frostmourne wins in Comeback

Search News

Search