Training began in January. I was in charge of 4 yearlings: Forever Forward, The Iceman, Waving Palms, and Next Stop. The first part of training was to get them used to equipment and riders. It took 2 months. Then, the real training began, and that would stop once we got to Decision Day. Next Stop was a son of front-running Grade 1 winner Cross Traffic, and he took after his sire. He would not stop running until he was in front and there was no one close behind him. He was reckless for a racehorse. Waving Palms took after his sire, Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner New Year's Day. Both were closers. Forever Forward, a daughter of speedy Breeders' Cup champ Corinthian, had random bursts of speed that she sometimes used, but seemed more content with grazing, like a broodmare. The Iceman...well, I didn't really know what he was. Sometimes he closed, sometimes he ran up front, but whatever it was, he did his best to stay away from a pack. If he was in a pack, the diminutive colt tried to bull his way out. For such a small colt, he sure was aggressive.
Normal routines were established for certain days, and the spring and summer passed quickly. The Iceman and I formed a tight bond. I wondered if the rest of the Jury would decided to keep or sell him.
~
On October 28, our Decision Day, Juddmonte called all the hands down to the yearling pasture. At one gate was an open trailer. At the other, a groom with a lead shank ready to lead the horse that went through the gate to a stall in the barn. There were 28 yearlings to sort through and decide whether to keep or sell them. That decision was to be made by the Jury: our head trainer, Bill Mott, me, the owner of the farm, USA division overseer Teddy Grinthorpe, and 2 trusted grooms.
The first yearling that came before the Jury was a Ghostzapper colt. He was big but violent, so he went to the trailer that would take him to a sale. The second was a medium-sized, gray filly by Declaration of War. We decided to keep her.
Eventually, we came to The Iceman. I voted to keep him, and so did both the grooms. Teddy said no, he was too small. The owner of Juddmonte, Prince Khalid bin Abdullah, said he would make his decision based on his trainer's. It was all up to Bill now.
"Well, he is small. He does have a good pedigree, though, and when he does decide to run with the others, he keeps up fine. He doesn't seem to like other horses very much, but that could be good or bad. I really don't see why we shouldn't keep him, so I say he stays."
The Iceman's fate was sealed. He was led to a stall, since he was a Juddmonte racehorse now. He had great expectations due to his family's success, but at that point, few of us thought he could live up to them. His home became stall 6, right in the middle where he could be easily overlooked. It was the stall that the worst yearling got.
By the end of Decision Day, we had decided to sell 18 yearlings and keep 10. It was my duty to write down the info of the horses we were keeping. I looked at my paper and was impressed by what I was.
"There could be a real champion here," I thought.
I was right, although it wasn't who I thought it would be.
~
At the sales, Forever Forward garnered the most of all Juddmonte entries. She sold for $1.4 million. The other 17 all met their reserve prices and sold for a fair amount. On behalf of Juddmonte, I bid on and bought a couple yearlings. I bought a colt named Bloody Sunday, by American champion Blame and out of the Japanese champion mare Gentildonna. I also bought Under Orders, a filly by Stroll and out of Condo Commando. The last yearling i bought, a colt, was a son of Stay Thirsty and West Coast Belle. He was called Like Before. Juddmonte now had 13 yearlings to take to the races. Not all of them would make it there right away, though. 13 is, after all, an unlucky number.
~
Most of the new 2-year-olds were gearing up for their debuts. A few who were bound to be late bloomers weren't preparing for a debut, they were being allowed to mature. The Iceman was not one of those staying home, at least not initially. He never deserved what happened to him next.
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Hey everyone, sorry I made an error on the picture, but the filly Erie Feeling is by Declaration of War, not Congrats. Thanks and keep reading!
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The Iceman Cometh
AdventureThe warm, summer night air of the English countryside is split by a horse's scream, followed by the crack of a gunshot. There is a loud thud as the stallion collapses, and it seems to reverberate through the country, although its impact is not felt...
