Racing
Ice to stay Kool in Sunlight
Unbeaten gelding to tackle rich slot race at Gold Coast.
David Pfieffer believes the exciting Ice Kool can measure up in the $3 million Magic Millions Sunlight Plate (1100m) at Gold Coast on Saturday night.
The three-year-old slot race was won by subsequent Group 1 winner Private Harry in the inaugural edition last year and will see 12 horses line up, with Ice Kool drawing barrier nine at Tuesday's draw.
A 3-½ length winner on debut at Warwick Farm on December 3rd, Ice Kool went straight to a Benchmark 72 for three-and-four-year-olds and proved too speedy again at Randwick on December 27th.
Ice Kool will race under prominent owner Max Whitby's slot and Pfieffer said the shorter gap between runs this time should suit even better.
"He's going to go into this race probably better prepared than last start," Pfieffer said.
"Last start, he was three and a half weeks between runs. And so now, he's going into it two weeks between runs, and it hopefully should suit him really well.
"He had a quiet week last week, had a gallop on Saturday with Jason (Collett) on board and had his final gallop Tuesday morning.
"He'll get on a truck Thursday night and head to Queensland."
Having always had this race in the back of his mind, Pfieffer needed to see Ice Kool take a big step forward at his second start to warrant a trip North.
"He'd done a few little things wrong, and he still does a few little things wrong, but he's getting better every trial, getting better every race start," Pfieffer said.
"To get a slot, you've obviously got to prove yourself. Throwing him in a Saturday race was obviously a big step, but he stepped up to the plate.
"If he hadn't got the job done, well, he doesn't get a slot in this race. If he didn't achieve that goal, well, we wouldn't be talking now, would we?"
Having led in both starts to date, Pfeiffer is hopeful the map works out well for Ice Kool who has noted speedsters Swordplay and North England drawn outside him.
"He can be slow out, which he has been his last two starts," Pfieffer noted.
"He's not lightning out of the gates, like Swordplay is going to, it'll launch out of the gates, so that might just create that hole in behind them."
Ice Kool is rated a $4.50 second elect for the Sunlight behind the Kelly Schweida trained Grafterburners ($2.80) who is unbeaten in three runs this campaign and has drawn barrier two.
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