KEEN ON ANOTHER SARATOGA SURPRISE
Keen Ice returns to Spa 2 years after Travers upset of American Phaorah
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. » American Pharoah, California Chrome, Arrogate. The list of horses Keen Ice has finished behind would make a top-quality Hall of Fame Class. Keen Ice’s own 3-2-5 record from 22 starts appears modest until you look at the races he’s entered and the purse money he’s won — more than $3 million in earnings — and remember that the biggest of his three wins was at the Spa.
Keen Ice is best remembered for being the only horse to beat American Pharoah during his Triple Crown campaign in 2015. Keen Ice will return to the site of that Travers Stakes upset for a chance at another historic win — The $1.2 million Grade 1 Whitney at Saratoga Race Course.
“He’s a horse who spent the first third of his career running against American Pharoah, the second third of his career running against California Chrome and now Gun Runner and Arrogate,” Donegal Racing President Jerry Crawford said. “He’s danced every dance. He continues to show up and to be this good at this age is incredible.”
Keen Ice, a 5-year-old Curlin horse is second choice at 3-1 morning line odds for the 1 1/8mile race on the main track. Gun
Runner was given firstchoice odds of 4-5 while War Story (6-1), Tu Brutus (8-1), Breaking Lucky (8-1), Discreet Lover (25-1) and Cautious Giant make up the rest of the seven-horse field.
Donegal Racing and Calumet Farm are the owners and Todd Pletcher took over training duties in 2016. Dale Romans trained Keen Ice for the first 16 races of his career, including his historic Travers Stakes victory. Jose Ortiz will have the ride Saturday.
While any defeat of American Pharoah seemed impossible at the time, a look at Keen Ice’s races shows why he was able to — he always finishes strong. He got up for third in the 2015 Belmont then rallied for second in the Haskell. He fired too late to grab a top-three spot in the 2015 Breeders’ Cup Classic behind American Pharoah, but he did finish third best in the 2016 Classic behind Arrogate and California Chrome.
Keen Ice enters the Whitney off a solid Grade 2 win in the Suburban Handicap July 8 at Belmont. He overcame a slow pace to finish three lengths ahead of Shaman Ghost.
“I think he improved last time,” Ortiz said. “The way he’s working he’s going to run big (Saturday). We’re expecting a big race out of him.”
In fact, Keen Ice has only finished off the board in the Pegasus World Cup and Dubai World Cup since moving to Pletcher’s barn.
“I think it was important for him to win another race,” said Pletcher, a three-time Whitney winner with Left Bank (2002), Lawyer Ron (2007) and Cross Traffic (2013). “It had been a little while since he had won and he had run competitively in some races that were probably less than ideal for him. The only think I’d like to change is make the Whitney a mile and a quarter. I think he’s best a mile and a quarter, but it’s a mile and an eighth, so hopefully we can get an honest pace to run at and he can overcome it.”
Crawford was eager to point out that his horse has a chance to be the first since 2000 to win the Travers and the Whitney and being prepped by winning The Suburban. The last was Lemon Drop Kid 17 years ago.
Nine horses have pulled the Travers-Whitney double. Besides Lemon Drop Kid completing the Whitney half in 2000, there is Medaglia d’Oro — who did it in 2003 — Will’s Way (1997), Easy Goer (1989), Java Gold (1987), Alydar (1978), Key To The Mint (1972), Fenelon (1941) and Eight Thirty (1939).