Keen Ice returns to work tab

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Keen Ice, who upset American Pharoah in last year’s Travers, worked three furlongs in 38.33 seconds Friday morning, his first work in five months and his first for his new trainer, Todd Pletcher.

“Just your standard, easy, three-eighths, first work back; seemed to do it well in hand with a decent-enough gallop-out that we’ll proceed to a half-mile from there,” Pletcher said.

Following an eighth-place finish in the Dubai World Cup in March, owner Jerry Crawford transferred the horse from Dale Romans to Pletcher. But before Pletcher even got him on the track, Keen Ice was diagnosed with a distal cannon bone fissure fracture that required time off. He was at WinStar Farm for several months before joining Pletcher at Saratoga about three weeks ago.

Pletcher said he and Crawford haven’t discussed any potential races.

“We figured we’d just get him going, see where he is, how fit he is, and go from there,” Pletcher said.

Meanwhile, Pletcher said that Far From Over, who finished sixth as the 4-5 favorite in the Alydar Stakes on Aug. 7, came out of the race with an issue in his left hind.

“Whatever he did at the gate, he pulled something left hind,” Pletcher said. “He was uncomfortable following the race, so we’re in the process of trying to figure out what he did.”