Gulfstream: Haulin Ice kicks you know what in Princess Rooney
Haulin Ice registered a commanding, front-running victory Saturday in the Grade 3, $200,000 Princess Rooney Stakes at Gulfstream Park, earning a shot to follow in the hoofprints of Soul of an Angel.
The seven-furlong sprint for fillies and mares was a Breeders’ Cup win-and-you’re-in qualifier for the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint on Nov. 1 at Del Mar.
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Last year Soul of an Angel won the Princess Rooney before going on to win the Breeders’ Cup for C2 Racing Stable, Agave Racing Stable and Ken Reimer. Haulin Ice is owned by C2, Miller Racing, Paul Braverman and Timothy Pinch.
“She’s incredible. Back-to-back Rooneys and headed back to the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint,” said Clint Cornett, managing partner of C2, which he operates with his brother Mark Cornett. “This little horse, we bought her out of Oaklawn. She’s a little grinder.”
One of three starters trained by Saffie Joseph Jr. in a field of seven, Haulin Ice took control of the race right out of the gate before being able to set moderate half-mile fractions of 23.01 and 45.50 seconds under Édgard Zayas. She went on to score by 4 3/4 lengths. Haulin Ice ran seven furlongs on a good main track in 1:22.80.
“She really finished out very nice. I know seven furlongs might be a little stretch for her, but the way she put up the fractions in the beginning, she really came home very nice,” Zayas said.
Haulin Ice, the 5-2 second betting choice, established herself as the richest Arkansas-bred Thoroughbred of all time while picking up the $115,200 winner’s share of the purse to boost her career earnings to $958,650. Nodouble earned $846,749 during a career that included a third-place finish in the 1968 Preakness.
Ángel Quiroz-trained Nerazurri, a 41-1 long shot ridden by Edgar Perez, was closest in pursuit of Haulin Ice for most of the race. She finished second, a half-length in front of Gustavo Delgado-trained Reputation, who finished 1 1/2 lengths ahead of José D’Angelo-trained Vincey Girl.
Haulin Ice’s Joseph-trained stablemates Claret Beret, the 8-5 favorite, and Ultimate Authority finished fifth and seventh, respectively.
Joseph-trained Mystic Lake also was entered to run in the Princess Rooney but was scratched in favor of Saturday’s $150,000 Liberty Bell at Parx. That was where C2 and Stefania Farms’ 4-year-old daughter of Mo Town won her fourth stakes in a row.
Haulin Ice, a 4-year-old daughter of Coal Front who was bought privately at Oaklawn last year, had a four-race winning streak snapped by a second-place finish in the Aug. 16 Sheer Drama. That day she set a pressured pace before being overtaken by Vincey Girl while conceding seven pounds to the winner.
“It looked like there was no speed at all in the race. It was different than her last race when she had (to carry) 127 pounds, plus there was a lot of speed in the race,” Zayas said. “Today she was the speed of the speed, and she put up pretty easy fractions and then sprinted home.”