Ice Kool remains undefeated, stakes Magic Millions Sunlight claims | Just horse racing

Light racing three-year-old Ice Kool kept his perfect record intact at Royal Randwick on Saturday, overcoming inexperience to remain unbeaten and declaring himself a $3 million live Magic Millions Sunlight contender.

Racing at speed in the Petaluma Benchmark 72 Handicap (1100m), the son of Zoustar made plenty of mistakes but still found enough late under stand-in jockey Jay Ford to make it two-for-two. An early duel with the fast Petticoat put him out of the lead, but he stayed strong on the line.

Trainer David Pfieffer was happy with the win, while acknowledging that there was still some cleaning to do. “He exceeded the middle stages of the race, but the more he races, the more he will deliver and probably the better he will become, I hope,” Pfieffer said. “It’s just a matter of: he’s going to have to learn to drop the bridle at the right times in the race, breathe and get taller again.

“I think Jay (went a little wider in the turn) to try to get him away from the other horse to keep him from pulling and to get him to relax and drop the bridle. He went hard, probably harder on himself than he had to be, but he got the job done.”

With regular driver Jason Collett in Queensland, Ford seized the opportunity on board the emerging talent. After a slightly awkward start, he moved forward to join the leading pair, establishing a break on the chasers before emerging on the straight.

The $2.40 bookmakers favorite kept finding the final 200 meters to beat the Michael Freedman-trained Southern Heiress ($21) by a long neck, with Joe Pride’s Big Red Tequila ($5.50) a close distance in third.

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