Keen Ice breezes half-mile, joins American Pharoah on Belmont-bound flight

Last updated: 6/2/15 4:07 PM

Keen Ice breezes half-mile, joins American Pharoah on
Belmont-bound flight

Keen Ice, shown readying for
the Kentucky Derby, is ‘doing so good that it’s scary’ according
to Dale Romans (Harold Roth/Horsephotos.com)

Keen Ice (Curlin) put in his final work Tuesday at Churchill Downs before
taking on Kentucky Derby (G1) and Preakness (G1) winner American Pharoah (Pioneerof
the Nile) in Saturday’s $1.5 million Belmont Stakes (G1) at Belmont Park.

Seventh in the Kentucky Derby, Keen Ice breezed a half-mile in :50 1/5 with
Tammy Fox in the saddle for trainer Dale Romans at approximately 6:15 a.m.
(EDT). Churchill Downs clocker John Nichols timed Keen Ice in splits of :12 2/5,
:25 and :37 3/5 before galloping out five furlongs in 1:04 2/5.

“I thought he looked great and he worked great; it looked perfect,” Romans
said. “He’s doing so good that it’s scary. It’s all a matter of whether or not
he’s good enough. There’s not another fear to have.”

Keen Ice has displayed no early speed in his last three starts, dropping back
to last or next-to-last before offering a rally, and Romans is expecting a
change of tactics in the 1 1/2-mile Belmont.

“With (an expected) lack of pace, he will be laying closer,” the trainer
said. “This is a race that even though people think it’s for a deep closer, it’s
not; you need to be in the race. Woody Stephens said years ago that it’s a speed
horse race going a mile-and-a-half and so lack of pace will keep us in contact
and I know that we have the endurance to keep going.”

Romans added that he will not be sending Birdatthewire (Summer Bird) for the
$750,000 Acorn (G1) or any other horses to Belmont for the undercard.

“We need to stay focused,” Romans said.

American Pharoah leaving
Churchill Downs (Churchill
Downs/Reed Palmer Photo)

American Pharoah walked the Churchill Downs shed row of Barn 33 Tuesday
morning before departing Churchill Downs at 10 a.m. for a van ride to Louisville
International Airport for his flight to New York.

The H.E. “Tex” Sutton Forwarding Co. charter flight, which also included Keen
Ice, departed at 11:40 a.m. and was due to arrive at Long Island MacArthur
Airport around 1:15 p.m.

“He looked very good this morning; we’re loaded, packed and ready to go,”
said trainer Bob Baffert’s assistant Jimmy Barnes, one day after American
Pharoah breezed five furlongs in 1:00 1/5. “My mind right now is focusing on
getting a safe trip to New York and what kind of post position we’ll draw and
all that. But other than that it’s just anxiousness. You just want to run the
race.

“We’ve done everything we can do on our part, except for getting a safe trip
to New York and getting through the paddock and then it will be all up to Victor
(Espinoza).”

Also boarded on the same van as American Pharoah for Baffert were Bayern (Offlee
Wild), last year’s Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) winner who runs on the Belmont
Stakes undercard in the $1.25 million Metropolitan H. (G1); and Enchanting Lady
(Tale of the Cat), who will contest Friday’s $150,000 Jersey Girl.

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