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British trainer William Knight is optimistic Frost At Dawn can progress to become a sprinter at the top level – starting with the Group 1 Al Quoz Sprint on Dubai World Cup night. Knight, who trained Illustrious Blue to victory at the old Nad Al Sheba Racecourse in 2007, witnessed his faith in the daughter of Frosted vindicated with a scintillating victory in Saturday’s G3 Nad Al Sheba Turf Sprint, completed in a course record time under Mickael Barzalona. It was the three-year-old’s fifth run of an industrious Carnival which has yielded more than £180,000 in prize money, over four different trips, but the Newmarket handler is adamant the distances she will be tackling moving forward.
“We were delighted to see her win well on Saturday. She slightly surprised me with how fast she was, beating the track record,” said Knight in conversation with Great British Racing International (GBRI). “I think we got it right with her now and five to six furlongs will be her distance and we will stick to that for her career. “She’s had a pretty busy campaign. We started off in December with the plan to run in the UAE Guineas. She went to run on the dirt, and with her American pedigree we thought that would be good for her. “When we came back to the seven furlongs and on the turf, she finished behind two really good fillies. She ran great but was looking like she was not seeing the trip out.
‘A REALLY GOOD SPRINTING FILLY’
“So we dropped her back to six furlongs and that was almost a bit of a turning point as she was just beaten. That’s when we really told ourselves we have a really good sprinting filly.” Knight continued: “Jim Crowley rode her and felt that the Al Quoz Sprint was the right race for her. She had to run well in the Nad Al Sheba Turf Sprint on Emirates Super Saturday to get her rating to go up and qualify for the Al Quoz.”
Crowley’s assessment was proved spot on as Frost At Dawn took advantage of a low draw to bag the far rail under Barzalona and cover the 1000m at Meydan in just 55.41 seeconds, lowering the previous course record set by Ertijaal by half a second. Even with a fast turf surface and a brisk tailwind it was a smart performance on the clock and Knight revealed it is now all systems go for World Cup night. “The plan is now to go to the Al Quoz Sprint. The race on Super Saturday was a ‘win and you’re in’ so that guarantees us a slot,” he said.
HONG KONG ON THE HORIZON
“We have given her an entry for the Chairman Sprint in Hong Kong towards the end of April. After that we have big races back in England. We have Royal Ascot races like the King Charles III Stakes (previously the King’s Stand Stakes) and the Commonwealth Stakes, there’s the King George V Stakes at Glorious Goodwood, then the Nunthorpe Stakes at the Ebor Festival. “These are all races we would consider with her but for now we will keep our feet firm on the ground and go for the Al Quoz.
If she was to run a good race there we can then look towards those big Group 1 races towards the summer.” Knight has also been delighted that his filly has produced on the big stage for long-standing owner Abdulla Al Mansoori who now has a terrific night to look forward to on March 30th.
Knight added: “Abdulla Al Mansoori has had horses with me since I moved to Newmarket four years ago and has always supported me since then. It’s great to produce a winner like we did on Super Saturday for him in his home country. “To have a filly which he bred himself run in his colours on Dubai World Cup night in three weeks is pretty special as well. Hopefully this filly can win for him!”
