Mr Freeze pulls away to win West Virginia Derby at Mountaineer

In what was billed as a rematch between West Coast shippers Once On Whiskey and Draft Pick, the lightly raced Mr Freeze stole she show with an eight-length win Saturday in the Grade 3, $500,000 West Virginia Derby at Mountaineer.

It was the Dale Romans trainee's fourth career start, making him one of the least experienced contenders in the nine-horse field. The son of To Honor and Serve did not make his debut until April this year, winning his first two races before running second to High North in the Iowa Derby.

With the stakes experience under his belt, Mr Freeze used the West Virginia Derby to stamp himself as an up and coming 3-year-old, even beating the only horse who had bested him last time.

“He ran really well,” Romans said. “We think he’s a special horse, and I’m pretty sure we haven’t seen the best of him.”

Mr Freeze broke sharp under Robby Albarado and was quick to grab the lead. Draft Pick and High North were close behind, and Grade 3 Los Alamitos Derby winner Once On Whiskey was closer to the pace than normal. Longshots King Cause and Pamir were in the mix while Rugbyman, Lionite and Caloric made up the back of the pack.

Unphased by the pressure, Mr Freeze ticked off fractions of 24:02, :47.88 and 1:11.13. Albarado let the field gain ground near the turn for home before pulling away to win for fun, wrapping up the 1 1/8 miles in 1:47.95.

“My intentions were to leave (the gate) aggressively, and he broke extremely well,” Albarado said. “He put me in the race and was within himself. I was able to control the race from the start.

“I wanted to be off the pace, but since he broke so well at the start, I had to call an audible. I didn’t want to squeeze the inside too hard, and I think that was the deciding factor. He’s a nice horse and he did the right things to win today.”

Draft Pick stayed for second and High North beat out Lionite for third. The favorite Once On Whiskey had no answer turning for home and finished fifth ahead of Rugbyman, Caloric, King Cause and Pamir.

Only a $75,000 yearling purchase for Jim Bakke and Gerald Isbister, Mr Freeze has already earned $434,400 in his short career and turned himself into a late bloomer to watch for the remainder of the summer.

“He’s going to be a force to be reckoned with later in the year,” Albarado said, “especially with (Triple Crown winner Justify) retired now. “He can be something good.”