Ice Box Switches Surfaces in Jamaica

Hall of Fame trainer Nick Zito said this afternoon that Florida Derby winner and Kentucky Derby runner-up Ice Box will make his next start on the grass in the Grade 1, $250,000 Jamaica Handicap on October 9.

The 3-year-old son of Pulpit, who finished ninth as the favorite in the Belmont Stakes and was subsequently sixth in the Haskell Invitational and eighth in the Travers, has worked twice over the grass at Saratoga Race Course, going a half-mile in 51.50 on September 10 and again in 49.20 on September 24.

“Bob [Robert LaPenta, owner of Ice Box] and I talked about it, and we decided we have to make a change,” said Zito. “The Triple Crown, obviously is so tough on horses and you have to try something. So Bob thought, being that [dam Spice Island] won on the grass and with his style of running, let’s just try the turf. He’s worked a couple times on the grass, so we’ll try it. So we will see what happens. Hopefully this changes him around and he can step up.”