Doncaster runner-up Icebath on target for new rich race

Icebath is on the fourth line of betting for Sydney’s new rich race the $2m The Invitation, but her trainer Brad Widdup is still worried about her getting a run.

That’s because he and his star mare have had to sneak into two other rich feature races last season when many questioned if she was worthy of a start.

Those two races were the $7.5 million Golden Eagle and the $3 million Group 1 Doncaster Mile.

But she did better than most expected, going down in both races in photo finishes but those results should be good enough for the judges to give her one of the 12 spots in the new feature which will be run on October 23.

When The Invitation was announced by Racing NSW on Friday Widdup immediately thought of Icebath.

“It definitely goes on the radar but you’ve got to be invited first,” Widdup said.

“It’s a bit like the Kosciuszko. You’ve got to show you’re keen to run in the race and perform.

“Her record reads pretty good. I could plan this (if invited). Before, we scraped into the Golden Eagle and Doncaster.

“We were always ducking and diving in the past just to get a run in those big races. You’ve got to plan things a long way out.”

Icebath is rated a $15 chance to take out the initial running of The Invitation behind Probabeel ($6), Tofane ($8) and Golden Eagle winner Colette ($11).

Widdup will likely trial Icebath on Friday and give her a second hit out on August 9 before heading to the Group 3 Show County Quality (1200m) at Randwick on August 21.

The Hawkesbury trainer says the Group 2 Golden Pendant is the main aim for Icebath before the Group 1 Epsom Handicap (1600m) then hopefully The Invitation.

“It fits in well. It’s three weeks after the Epsom which gives us enough time. A 21-day freshen up off a mile race works out perfect,” Widdup said.

“We don’t need to go to Melbourne now. That was the discussion I had with the owners.“

Despite not winning a Stakes race yet, Icebath has won more than $2.3 million in prizemoney.

The Everest isn’t a Stakes race but that won’t hurt the value of Yes Yes Yes, who won the event two years ago, and The Invitation might head that way as well in time.

“If Icebath gets that on her resume it’s a pretty big thing,” Widdup said.

“They’re aiming to make these races for breeding as well.

“Her brother (Courier Wonder) is looking like being the best horse in Hong Kong. He’s on his way anyway. He’s her full brother so what’s she worth?”

Courier Wonder was foaled in 2017, one year after Icebath. They are both by Sacred Falls.

Icebath was sold for $100,000 at the Magic Millions and Courier Wonder was bought for $150,000 at Karaka in New Zealand by John Foote who bought Silent Witness, the dam of Makybe Diva and Prince Of Penzance.

Courier Wonder has won five from five in Hong Kong for John Size.

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Racing will continue to survive Sydney’s Covid-19 crisis despite tougher restrictions on who can continue to work.

The Warwick Farm trainers are in the thick of the south west Sydney cluster but NSW Trainer’s Association CEO Richard Callander said industry participants were doing everything to ensure it continued.

“Unlike a lot of other industries, we’ve got to follow so many rules that the stewards set every week,” Callander said.

“All trainers and their staff are getting tested every 72 hours and everyone is getting their temperature checked each morning before work and they’ve been told to go straight to work and straight back home.

“We’re very lucky and appreciative of racing continuing so we’ve got to keep doing everything we can.”

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It wasn’t a surprise that most of James McDonald’s rides drifted at Randwick on Saturday when news came through he wasn’t riding at the meeting.

TAB spokesperson Andrew Georgiou said that McDonald’s absence also dulled punter confidence and there wasn’t as much activity on the horses he was to ride, or in the races themselves.

“James McDonald is one of the premier jockeys in Australia so his absence definitely impacts the markets,” Georgiou said.

“When he is riding and on song, punters always seem to gravitate to him.”

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Japanese horses have often had the measure of our own horses on their Down Under raids but when it comes to breeding, we more than hold our own.

There was no better example than at last week’s JHRA Select Sale when the first foal out of Golden Slipper winner She Will Reign, by Japanese champion sire Heart’s Cry, sold for 164m yen, or just over Au$2m.

As high as it was, it was still well short of the $3 million paid for Yankee Rose’s (first) filly, a foal by Deep Impact, who sold in 2019.

Another Aussie mare represented at the sale during the week was Driefontein whose Heart’s Cry colt fetched the equivalent of $700,000.

Originally published asBig race bridesmaid Icebath deserves Invitation

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