Frosted Departure

Frosted Departure was well-beaten in his career debut but bounced back smartly to win his second start by 3 ¾ lengths July 22, 2022, at Ellis Park. Following a fourth-place finish in a stakes race at Ellis, Frosted Departure returned to Churchill and won an optional-claiming race by 9 ¼ lengths.

Trainer Kenny McPeek was encouraged enough to next test the gray or roan colt by Frosted against graded stakes competition and stretching out in distance, but it proved too much too soon and he was unplaced and soundly defeated in both the Grade 1 Claiborne Breeders’ Futurity and Grade 3 Street Sense Stakes.

Returning to sprints, Frosted Departure next finished third in the Ed Brown Stakes and two starts later closed out his juvenile season with a head victory Dec. 31 at Oaklawn Park in the Renaissance Stakes.

McPeek took another chance in a graded stakes race around two turns Jan. 28, 2023, for Frosted Departure’s 3-year-old debut, and he responded with a third behind front-running winner Arabian Knight in the $750,000 Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn.