Ice Kool’s developing racecraft is still a work in progress, but his undeniable talent shone through as he overcame inexperience to secure another promising victory at Randwick.
Despite the three-year-old consistently making his task more difficult by not anticipating the start and then rushing, he continues to climb through the racing grades.
His win in Saturday’s Ensure Workplace Risk Solutions Handicap (1000m) marked his fourth triumph in five outings. Trainer David Pfieffer acknowledges the horse’s quirks but is optimistic that time and maturity will lead to improvements.
“He makes it hard for himself. He’s slow out of the gates, and then he had to use himself to muster a bit of speed,” Pfieffer stated. “He’s still ironing out his race craft, and he’s just got to get those one percenters right. When he does that, he’s going to keep improving.
“If he learns to settle and adapt to races when things don’t go to plan, we’ll see a nice horse.”
With Jay Ford in the saddle, Ice Kool, the $1.50 favourite, quickly found a position three-wide on the speed. He had to dig deep under his considerable 60kg weight to win by a half-length from Petticoat ($14), with Teylu ($41) finishing a further long head back in third.
Although this is off-season form, Pfieffer believes Ice Kool possesses the potential to develop into a significant carnival contender. He intends to give the colt a brief spell before targeting spring campaigns.
“We might look to give him a let-up and then poke around at carnival time,” he commented. “I’m contemplating going to Melbourne because I’m thinking he won’t be in the Concorde (Stakes), The Shorts, the Premiere (Stakes). He’s not at that level yet.
“Testing him down the straight or around Caulfield or Sandown, a few of those races that are second tier stakes races will be nice little targets. Hopefully we’re talking those Sydney lead-up races this time next year.”
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