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Pensioned Stallion Frost Giant Dies at 19

The son of Giant's Causeway has sired 17 black-type stakes winners.

Frost Giant

Frost Giant

Matt Wooley/EquiSport Photos

Pensioned New York stallion Frost Giant, a 19-year-old son of Giant's Causeway and sire of 17 black-type winners, died Jan. 10 at ReRun Thoroughbred Adoption, which had been his home for the past year.

Frost Giant had been battling on and off with laminitis since his retirement.

"He had a little bout earlier in the year, nothing that bad. This last one hit him hard," said Lisa Molloy, program director for ReRun, which is near East Greenbush, south of Albany. "We've tried all kinds of different stuff. We had different farriers, we had a podiatrist look at him, we tried different medications, and special shoes; we did a ton of stuff.

"He was like a little firecracker," Molloy continued. "Even if he was a bit sore, he would try to nip at you and be sassy. This last week he was just really quiet. He didn't feel good so that is why we made the decision to euthanize him."

Owned by Andrew Cohen, who raced the horse with IEAH Stable and Pegasus Holdings Group Stable, Frost Giant won the 2008 Suburban Handicap (G1) and two other group stakes overseas on his way to earning $454,630. He retired to stud in 2009 initially at Vinery New York and shuttled to Chile and Australia before settling down in New York at Keane Stud. Eventually Frost Giant was transferred to Irish Hill & Dutchess Views Stallions in 2018 and stood there until his recent retirement.

As a stallion, Frost Giant sired multiple graded stakes winner and millionaire Giant Expectations and multiple Australian group winner Valour Road. His runners appeared regularly in the winner's circle following New York Stallion Series races, including West Hills Giant, who is a ReRun resident; and Frosty Margarita, Loki's Vengeance, Kid Is Frosty, and Frosty Bay, to name a few.

Many of Frost Giant progeny found their way to ReRun over the years, and they all shared their sire's personality, according to Molloy.

"I think more retired Frost Giants came through here than anything else or anywhere else. At any one time, we probably had three or four available for adoption or rehabbing," she said. "The majority of them looked just like him in terms of their color and the white markings on the legs, but they all had that sassy attitude to them … all of them. None of them had a mean bone in their bodies."

Many of Frost Giant's progeny have gone on to excel as show jumpers or three-day eventers.

"They were edgy and they had game," said Molloy.

Frost Giant was a small horse, standing around 15.1 hands, but his personality was twice that size, recalled Molloy.

"He just made me laugh," she said. "When he saw you in the barn, he would squeal at you because he wanted more hay or he wanted something else. He was just a really cool horse. And he had Cushings earlier, which gave him a long curly coat, so he looked like a pony and had the pony attitude.

"I knew it was coming. I just wasn't expecting it to be so soon," Molloy continued about the stallion's health. "As soon as he stopped giving me crap, I knew it was time."