A great start to 2021 for Darley Stud's Frosted (USA) with his daughter Frost Flowers making a brilliant career debut when spacing her rivals in the New Year Sprint 1000m at Flemington.
A half-sister to the Group III MRC Blue Diamond Prelude winner and Group 1 Blue Diamond Stakes runner-up Hanseatic, Frost Flowers responded to a mere shake of the reins by Jamie Kah. The chestnut defeated the Shalaa (IRE) filly Tayla's Moment by one and a half lengths with a further three lengths back to the I Am Invincible filly I Am Enchanting in third.
Trained by Anthony and Sam Freedman, Frost Flowers will take the traditional path to the Blue Diamond Stakes according to stable representative Brad Taylor.
"That was pretty impressive. When they come down the middle of the track it's always hard for a two-year-old at their first start to come along the inside like that," Taylor said.
"When they came to the 300m and Jamie was still swinging on her it was a pretty easy watch after that.
"She is a filly that is going to improve. She has done everything right since we got her. She is very professional, has the pedigree to back it up and it's nice to train another winner for Godolphin.
Frost Flowers will follow the path travelled by Lyre, who ran a luckless fifth in this race, on the way to her Blue Diamond success in 2019, with one crucial difference.
"She won't have to go to Sale to get her maiden out of the way," Taylor said.
"She will probably go to Caufield on Australia Day and run in the first of the Blue Diamond series and hopefully we can get through to the end of February."
Frost Flowers is the fourth winner from as many foals out of the winning Exceed And Excel mare Itameri who was purchased by Darley for $300,000 as a yearling in 2012.
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A three-quarter sister to Group II MRC Schillaci Stakes winner, Wilander, Itameri is out of the Fusaichi Pegasus (USA) mare Baltics, a half-sister to Magnus, Scandiva and Arctic Flight as well as Hellsinge the dam of Black Caviar and All Too Hard.
Itameri missed to her cover by Exosphere in 2018 before delivering a filly by the son of Lonhro again last spring.
Sadly, Itameri died three days after foaling.
Frost Flowers becomes the second first crop winner for Frosted (USA) after the Listed Maribyrnong Trial winner Ingratiating.
The charismatic son of Tapit has several placegetters including the stakes-placed Cloudy as well as Glacier Miss, The Globe and Translation.
