Keen Ice now under care of Pletcher

Keen Ice, who upset Triple Crown winner American Pharoah in last year’s Travers Stakes at Saratoga, was transferred Tuesday morning from trainer Dale Romans to Todd Pletcher, owner Jerry Crawford confirmed Tuesday afternoon.

“I know this seems like a bigger deal to some people than it does to us," said Crawford, who races under the moniker Donegal Racing. "We do this quite often, move horses from one trainer to another. I know trainers don’t like it oftentimes, but anytime you have an athlete in a slump it’s best to give that athlete a shot at a different system and see if that leads to a different result.”

Keen Ice is only 2 for 16 but has made $1.8 million. After finishing third to American Pharoah in the Belmont Stakes and second to him in the Haskell Invitational, Keen Ice took advantage of a contested pace to rally from sixth and beat American Pharaoh by three-quarters of a length in the Travers.

Crawford said he has no immediate plans for Keen Ice, who just returned to the U.S. last week after making his last two starts in Dubai. Keen Ice finished eighth in the $10 million Dubai World Cup following a seventh-place finish in Round 3 of the Maktoum Challenge, the local prep for the World Cup.

“The horse obviously needs a little R and R coming off Dubai," Crawford said. "It’s premature to be thinking of any specific long-term plans. The question is, can you get him back to the form he showed in the Travers? The form he showed in the Travers would have been good enough to win the World Cup.”

Crawford said he and Romans are and remain close friends.

“This is not some personal ill will,” Crawford said.

Crawford said the only other horse he has with Pletcher is Donegal Moon, who is running at Keeneland in Saturday’s Blue Grass Stakes, a race Romans has entered both Brody’s Cause and Cherry Wine.

“I would say this, with laughter in my voice: I’m sure Dale would love to beat us this weekend in the Blue Grass Stakes,” Crawford said.