Frankie Dettori adds Frost At Dawn to his British book of mounts at the Breeders' Cup

Frankie Dettori has added to his book of British rides at the Breeders’ Cup at Del Mar next weekend after being booked for William Knight’s Frost At Dawn in the Filly & Mare Sprint.

Tackling seven furlongs on dirt will not be a first for the three-year-old, as she finished second on a similar surface at Meydan during a successful stint in Dubai last winter.

Frost At Dawn went on to land the Group 3 Nad El Sheba Sprint over 5f on turf during that spell, after which she was given a break to prepare for a shot at the Breeders’ Cup.

The daughter of Frosted is already training at the track at Del Mar, having travelled to California after her recent fifth in the Grade 2 Franklin Stakes at Keeneland a fortnight ago.

Slowly away over five and a half furlongs on turf that day, Frost At Dawn narrowly missed out on fourth behind local winner Future Is Now and was preceded by fellow Newmarket runner Pandora’s Gift (third), who is set to reoppose next Saturday night.

Frost At Dawn: worked at Meydan during a stint there in MarchCredit: Edward Whitaker

Knight said: “It makes sense to get Frankie on board as he knows his way around there and, although she has two options, it’s 99 per cent certain that Frost At Dawn runs in the Filly & Mare Sprint. She’s already out there training on the dirt track and is in super shape after her last run at Keeneland, where she came from a bit far back.”

Frost At Dawn is a 40-1 chance with most bookmakers for the Filly & Mare Sprint, which Knight thinks is the right race. He said: “She’s won on turf but has also won on Polytrack and ran well on dirt at Meydan. She’s by a multiple Grade 1 dirt winner, so we’re hopeful she can handle it.”

On Friday, it was confirmed that Dettori will be reunited with Emily Upjohn in the Breeders’ Cup Turf, which led to her being cut to 7-2 (from 5) for the 1m4f contest by Coral.

Spokesman Dave Stevens said: "Early confirmation of Emily Upjohn's target at Del Mar next weekend has seen the mare trimmed for the Breeders' Cup Turf, and she's now clear second favourite behind Rebel's Romance, while the booking of Frankie Dettori will only increase the support for her."

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