Ice Needs Whiskey set to build on promising 3-year-old campaign

Ice Needs Whiskey was a maiden when he won an allowance race for non-winners of two or Washington-bred non-winners of three last August at Emerald Downs in his second start. He makes his first start since then at the same level Saturday, and looks like the one to beat in the 5 1/2-furlong dash, which drew eight horses. It goes as race 7 on an eight-race card that begins at 2:15 p.m. Pacific.

Trained by Kay Cooper, Ice Needs Whiskey showed plenty of promise when he set a fast pace before settling for second in his debut in a maiden special weight race in July. Proving the strong performance was no fluke, he came back to take them all the way as the favorite in his only other start.

:: For the first time ever, our premium past performances are free! Get free Formulator now!

He has a right to be a decent horse. After all, the 4-year-old Washington-bred gelding by Private Gold is a half-brother to I Keep Saying, who holds the North American track record for 6 1/2 furlongs on dirt at 1:12.94. I Keep Saying was trained by Cooper’s father, Jim Penney.

“He’s similar in build to I Keep Saying,” said Cooper, who was an assistant to her late father. “He has a ton of talent but the mind of a 3-year-old in a 4-year-old’s body and he never made it to the track as a 2-year-old.”

I Keep Saying is still in the family.

“He is great to be around and he likes being at the track, so we brought him back to the track as a pony,” said Cooper.

Ice Needs Whiskey will break from post 7 with Kevin Orozco up.

According to the local weather forecast, it will start raining Friday and stay wet through the weekend.

A wet track will not be a problem for the Cooper-trained Nationheart. The 4-year-old son of Nationhood is coming off a third-place finish at the same level over a track rated sloppy May 15 in his first start this year. He came from a stalking position in the 5 1/2-furlong dash. In his only other start on a wet surface he romped by four lengths when he debuted in a maiden special weight race last year on May 27.

“I think Ice Needs Whiskey will also be fine running on a wet track,” said Cooper.

Nationheart will break from post 2 with Chester Bonnet retaining the mount.

Ethan’s Animal was coming off a lengthy layoff when he finished fifth in the same race Nationheart exits. In his previous start, the Blaine Wright trainee won a maiden special weight race in October 2020.

The 4-year-old Washington-bred son of Animal Kingdom has a right to move forward with a race behind him, especially considering the past five years Wright has a 41 percent strike rate and $3.57 ROI with horses making their second start after being away for over a year.

Ethan’s Animal also signaled his readiness when he worked a sharp five furlongs in 59 seconds May 30.

Alex Cruz will be aboard when he breaks from post 3.