Champion trainer Mark Frostad will look to double his pleasure at the upcoming Breeders’ Cup, when he sends out New Normal (10-1 morning line) in Friday’s Juvenile Fillies Turf and Grand Adventure (12-1) in Saturday’s Turf Sprint.
The man who directed Sam-Son Farm’s Chief Bearhart to his 1997 Breeders’ Cup Turf win and consecutive Canadian Horse of the Year titles in 1997 and 1998, has a pair of grass aces primed and ready to take their best shot against some of the world’s top turfers at this year’s Breeders’ Cup at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky.
Frostad, who has won three Sovereigns (1997, 1999 and 2000) as Canada’s outstanding conditioner, hopes New Normal, a two-year-old bay daughter of Forestry, can continue her winning ways in the Juvenile Fillies Turf on November 5.
The Kentucky-bred, bred and owned by Robert Evans, heads into the biggest race of her career off a very impressive 1 ½-length score in the Grade 3 Natalma Stakes, contested on Woodbine’s E.P. Taylor Turf Course, on September 18.
“She’s a really nice filly and it was a great effort in the Natalma,” said Frostad, of the second consecutive win for New Normal, who has post 10 for Friday’s race. “She keeps on improving and she’s in great shape.”
New Normal finished fourth in career bow, a seven-furlong turf race at the Toronto oval on August 2, where she was blocked in upper stretch, but still closed strongly. In her next effort, also at seven panels at Woodbine, she won by 2 ¾ lengths to break her maiden.
“Her maiden win was really solid,” said Frostad. “We knew she was a good one and she just keeps getting better. But this is a tough race and she’ll have to be at the top of her game.”
Javier Castellano, who was aboard for the Natalma triumph, gets the call.
Grand Adventure, a four-year-old son of Grand Slam, is back for another shot at Breeders’ Cup glory, this time in the Turf Sprint. Two years ago, the lifetime winner of five races from 14 starts finished tenth to Donativum in the Juvenile Turf at Santa Anita. The Sam-Son Farm stalwart and multiple graded stakes winner heads into the Turf Sprint off a strong showing in the Grade 1, six-furlong Nearctic Stakes, where he finished second to Serious Attitude on October 16.
“That was a freaky race run by that filly who won,” offered Frostad, of the stake that earned Grand Adventure a 103 Beyer Figure (Daily Racing Form speed rating). “If she’s not in that race, we’re three-plus lengths better than the next horse. It was a great effort on his part.”
Frostad wasn’t surprised to see the dark bay come up with a big-time showing, something he hopes Grand Adventure, who drew post 11 in Saturday’s 14-horse field, can duplicate again.
“He’s the type that likes to dig in and battle when a horse comes to him,” he noted. “I don’t think he saw that filly in the Nearctic. He’s just a very consistent horse who comes to race every time.”
Patrick Husbands, who has been aboard the Kentucky-bred in his past five starts, will be in the irons.
“I’ve gotten to know him really well over the past year and he is definitely a legit horse,” said Husbands. “He’s easy to ride. The key is to keep him calm before the race. I just tell him, ‘Relax, be calm.’ Once he’s relaxed, he gives you everything he’s got.”
The 2010 Breeders’ Cup races will air on TSN (Friday from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., Saturday 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.), TSN2 (Saturday from 1:30 p.m. to 5 p.m.) and HPItv in Canada.
Further details about the Canadian horses, including on-the-scene interviews, are available under the news section at www.woodbineentertainment.com/Woodbine/News/Pages/BreedersCup2010.aspx.
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