Keen for Ice

Dear Partners and Friends,

Let's start with the best news: Keen Ice moved into tenth place in the Derby points standing with his late charge to get up for third in the Risen Star. Ice now has 12 points, which puts him in tenth place. The top twenty run in the Derby. Last year it took 14 points to get in.

I had envisioned KEEN ICE being sharper early yesterday and thought it would give us a chance to win, but Conor Foley proved correct when he said this was just too short of a distance for ICE to prevail.

As we look ahead, we know that a first thru fourth place finish in Ice's last prep race should insure a spot in the starting gate in the Kentucky Derby with our horse most likely to make some noise if he gets there with his endurance running, fast finishing style.

So where will that last prep race be? Too soon to tell, but the leading contenders in order are the Louisiana Derby, the Blue Grass Stakes (Keeneland) or the Wood Memorial (Aqueduct).  All of those races are on Saturday, April 4. We already know that Ice likes the racing surface at both the Fair Grounds and Aqueduct (where Ice finished third in last year's Remsen).

We will be doing two things in the next two weeks. First, we will see how Ice trains coming out of the race. Ice is a big bull of a colt who is very sound and likely needs a lot of racing to be at his best. Second, we will be trying to figure out which horses are going where in the final big preps. We will look to find a spot where Ice can succeed. Importantly, these final preps are all at a mile and an eighth which will play a bit more to Ice's endurance, though it will take a mile and a quarter to see his best.

PUCA, IRISH and DANNY BOY

I think the story with these three is the same. All three coming off layoffs of from 3 1/2 to 7 months in duration. All three needed a race to get their fitness on the way to ready-to-win. While you hope horses can win "off the shelf," the truth is that it doesn't happen all that often going routes of ground like ours did yesterday.

Bill Mott was well pleased with PUCA, who stumbled badly at the start and was left with way too much to do going just a one turn mile.  PUCA still got up for fourth. "They won't beat her going two turns next time," said Mott after the race. PUCA earned Oaks points yesterday and so long as she runs well next out, she will be headed for the OAKS where she will relish the mile and an eighth. PUCA's next race will likely be the Frizette at Aqueduct on April 4, the same days as the Wood Memorial. Special mention to BIRDATTHEWIRE (Forum Racing) for a head bobbing second place finish.  

IRISH YOU WELL really needed the race. Irish's jock said he got very tired in the stretch but felt great underneath him and perfectly sound. As Conor Foley accurately predicted, IRISH is slow to come to hand but does seem headed back to a strong contender.

DANNY BOY. So was it the layoff? Does he not like dirt? Was it the speed favoring Gulfstream surface? Conor Crawford was adamant that we should have been running DANNY in the Palm Beach Stakes on the turf today instead of the dirt yesterday, and he may be right. DANNY will have to tell us what he is up for next. If he comes out of the race raring to go, the Spiral Stakes at Turfway Park is not out of the question in a final effort to get in the Derby. That race is March 21. With Danny's solid turf form he might just like the polytrack. If he doesn't come out bouncing we may look for an easier spot on the grass. Danny would need a first or second place finish in the Spiral to be in the Derby.

As we look ahead to this week, we have the unveiling of DUNBRODY. DUNBRODY will run on Fridayin a $61,000 Maiden Race at Oaklawn Park in Arkansas. While this race is too short for DUNBRODY at just six furlongs, he has been training forwardly for it. This is another "bred to run all day" Donegal colt who is bred to do well on either dirt or turf.

A final thanks to the great turnouts from DONEGAL NATION at both New Orleans and in Florida (under the leadership of Doengal stalwart "I bill by the minute" Joe Savage.). No one travels like Donegal.

Coming up next: March 14 at Elloree, South Carolina. 9 a.m. breeze show at the training center followed by a lunch honoring Frank and Bari Smith and their terrific staff. Let us know byWEDNESDAY of this week if you will be attending and if so, how many.

Buy a horse...see the world ;).

Jerry