Frost King Stakes

Purse $150.00 – For Two Year Olds Foaled In ON

7 Furlongs – Dirt

Woodbine – October 18, 2026

The 17th edition of the Frost King Stakes brings together five two-year-olds bred in Ontario competing for their first stakes victory! This is a perfect chance for these young horses to take a shot against stakes company and build their résumés. There is one thing every entrant in this year’s field has in common: each is a homebred. That means the winning owner will have the satisfaction of taking this race with a horse that began in their own breeding program. The Frost King Stakes has always been carded at the seven-furlong distance, but was briefly changed to 6 1/2 furlongs from 2020-2024. It was stretched back out to the original distance in the last running. Asgar and Mb Stables have been the most successful in this race with two wins apiece. Mb Stables sends out Pterodactyl this year with a chance to move to the top of the race’s all-time owner leaderboard. The stakes record was set back in 2014 when Honey Badger scored by two lengths, stopping the clock in a speedy 1:21.74. Let’s take a deep dive into this small but mighty field!

1. Blame The Whiskey – (Nakamura Stables, S. Civaci) Blame The Whiskey has made both of his starts going five furlongs on the grass. He finished second on debut in the free track circuit before breaking his maiden at FE on September 22. The son of Good Charlie took over late and pulled away by a length and a half in 57.33. Blame The Whiskey has stayed sharp since that victory, posting two bullet workouts followed by a strong five-furlong drill earlier this week. He has shown plenty of speed in his first two races and now gets the chance to prove himself against tougher company on the main track. I’m going to side with other rivals who have more dirt experience.

2. Lil Gangster – (Axeman, E J. Wilson) Axeman’s homebred brings the most experience in the field with five starts, and his last two have resulted in wins. After three unsuccessful maiden attempts, the son of Lil Pink Panther tried the turf at FE and broke through with a one-length victory. He followed that up in a 5 1/2 allowance at PID, rallying from seventh to get up by a head. It’s worth pointing out the final time for that allowance win was 1:03.18, which is the fastest time any two-year-old has completed 5 1/2 furlongs at PID. Connections also added Lasix for those back-to-back victories. A six-furlong work in 1:11.04 earlier this week suggests he has remained sharp for this assignment.

3. Pterodactyl – (Mb Stables, R M. Hernandez) This two-year-old colt has finished first or second in all three of his starts on the main track. Pterodactyl was runner-up at five and six and a half furlongs against MSW company before stretching to seven furlongs at WO, where he broke his maiden by a head in 1:22.74. He is the only one in this field that has a seven-furlong race under his belt. The Mb Stables’ homebred has continued to work regularly since that victory, including two six-furlong drills at BEL this month. He is proven on the surface and has improved with added distance, though this will be Pterodactyl’s first test against winners. This is going to be my top pick in here.

4. Silver Jazzman – (The Sidley Stud, W T. Buick) The Sidley Stud homebred Silver Jazzman is a son of Ginger Haggis and out of the mare Silver Jazzmin, who is a graded stakes winner on dirt. This colt struggled in his debut at BTP but showed tons of improvement when stretching to six and a half furlongs at FE. He closed from five lengths back, scoring by a length at the wire. Silver Jazzman returned to BTP for the Loyalty Stakes last time out and spent much of the six-furlong race at the back of the nine-horse field before rallying to finish fourth, beaten just one length. That late run kept him close against stakes company and gives him something to build on here. One to watch.

5. Carbine – (Mo Mentum Farm, D. Moran) Carbine is the least experienced runner in the field, with just one start to his name. He debuted in a four-and-a-half-furlong Maiden Special Weight at PID, rallying from the back of the nine-horse field to finish second, two lengths behind the winner. The son of History now takes on a much longer distance while still seeking his first victory, though his recent six-furlong works should help prepare him for this tough task. Carbine’s dam is a graded stakes winner on turf and his half-sister, Pumpkin Pie, is entered in the South Ocean Stakes—the filly equivalent of this race. A step up is needed to turn the tables on this field.

– AJM

Categories: STAKES ARTICLES, Ungraded