The Iceman Cometh

~New Surroundings~

If You Try and Friend To All settled in quickly and easily, loving their new surroundings and taking the high-quality British hay for granted from the start. The Iceman and Bloody Sunday, however, were a bit more hesitant. The Iceman wouldn't eat until I put a sugar cube from the store at home in his feed bucket.

After If You Try and Friend To All moved out to start racing, it was just Bloody Sunday, The Iceman, and I. Bill Mott decided Bloody Sunday should train some more before he started in the 2000 Guineas at the end of April. As for The Iceman, Bill had no plan and left it up to me. I knew that, with his sire, he would be a late-maturing colt, so an early start may not be beneficial. However, there was pressure from "expert" horsemen and the media to start the racing career of the last son of Came Home. Although most of them had never seen The Iceman, through word of mouth his image had become a greater force than The Iceman probably was.

Finally, after relentless pressure from Juddmonte, I entered The Iceman in an undercard race at Newmarket on the day of the 2000 Guineas. Bloody Sunday was racing in that race later on, but my first priority was getting The Iceman ready. I had studied the field of maidens, trying to decipher the real threats from everyone else.

3rd race at Newmarket, 2000 Guineas Day:

1- Unrenewable
Sire: Unbridled's Song
2- Abstiegendunkel
Sire: Sea the Moon
3- Arise Again
Sire: Awesome Gain
4- Apex
Sire: Shamardal
5- Dunshaw (IRE)
Sire: Dunkirk
6- Dive Bomber (USA)
Sire: Distorted Humor
7- Oltin Egat (IRE)
Sire: Noble Mission
8- Takeithowyouwantit
9- Rebounder
Sire: Lea
10- Kelgan Oqshom (UAE)
Sire: Prince Bishop
11- Dividing Line
Sire: Firing Line
12- Ihailtava
Sire: Kingman
13- The Iceman
Sire: Came Home

Rebounder and Absteigendunkel were the main threats. Dunshaw, a son of the great Dunkirk, and a talented son of Dubai World Cup winner Prince Bishop named Kelgan Oqshom could also pull off a win. I wasn't sure what a son of US dirt champion Firing Line was doing on the turf in England, but trying new things was a good idea in the breeding world.

As I led The Iceman into the paddock, well-dressed citizens lining the fence turned their attention to the colt in front of them. I heard whispers of "Came Home's last son" drifting in the wind to my ears. Most people looked away quickly, clearly disappointed at the sight of the colt with a bright white scar on his side from the accident. In their eyes, he was a cripple. Maybe he was. He did walk a little weird after the accident, but he flew over the track.

As I saddled The Iceman and gave his jockey Roger Moore his instructions, The Iceman's odds went from 5/2 to 15-1. I was happy I had bet £10 on him. He would fetch a nice return on the bet.

Roger rode The Iceman alone up the course to the gate. I leaned against the rail, watching and waiting.
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My lanky, scarred brown colt was the first horse out of the gate, but slowed down when he found no one else around him. Suddenly, he was forced to the outside and to the back as 12 other horses charged past him. As they approached the 1/4 pole, The Iceman was floundering, but I wasn't giving up on him so soon, unlike the few others who had bet on him. There was still a mile left to run.

Roger, get to work on him. He needs to see his competition. I thought. I had noticed that he always worked better with a partner.

As some of the other maidens began to tire from the fast fractions set by the leaders, Oltin Egat and Absteigendunkel, The Iceman joined the pack. I saw Roger flash the whip in front of him once, and as they entered the long homestretch with almost a 1/2 mile still to run, The Iceman drew even with Absteigendunkel. Oltin Egat still had a one-length lead. The Iceman had left Absteigendunkel and was now even with Oltin Egat. I found myself tended to the point where, if I was in a gate, would explode forward at the slightest noise. This was the most exciting race I had seen, and I had seen Came Home, Frankel, Mucho Macho Man, Sea the Stars, Exceed and Excel, and Black Caviar. It struck me like a shard of ice at that moment that The Iceman could affect Europe's racing world as much as his sire. As they approached the wire, The Iceman drew away as Oltin Egat became fed up with going head-to-head.

The Iceman won by 1.

Now, I had a plan for him. He was headed to Epsom.