Ice Axe On Top Of The World
| Ice Axe On Top Of The World 9 September, 2012 – Lisa Barrett |
It was a proud day for KZN racing and breeding today, when the Summerhill Stud-bred gelding Ice Axe, scored an impressive Group One victory in Mauritius when he beat the odds-on favourite IL Saggiatore for the Maiden Cup (Gr.1).
The island nation is crazy about its horse racing, and its Turf Club is the third oldest in the world, having been inaugurated in 1812. Like Australia which grinds to a halt for the Melbourne Cup, the same happens in Mauritius for the Maiden Cup, which is traditionally held on the first Sunday in September. The exact date of the first race is not clear, but it is believed to have been inaugurated in 1843, when it was won by Creeper 1.
This year’s renewal was a scintillating duel between the two rivals meeting for the third time, Ice Axe triumphing over IL Saggiatore all three previous occasions. Thanks to his win yesterday, Ice Axe made it four Group wins since his relocation to Mauritius.
Ice Axe comes with a celebrated and illustrious pedigree, half brother to the champion filly Icy Air, champion Equus 3YO Classic female of 2002 and multiple Group winner. His dam Nordic Air, is the daughter of the iconic broodmare sire, Northern Guest, is the sister to Great Attraction, dam of champion Amphitheatre, and was placed twice from four starts.
His sire Solskjaer, trained by Aidan O Brien, was gravely injured while attempting to win the Irish Two Thousand Guineas (Gr.1), and he showed tremendous guts and determination to come back from a potentially life threatening injury to win the Royal Whip Stakes (Gr.2) at The Curragh in 2004.
Retired to stud, he has produced several impressive runners including: Shogunnar, a brilliant third behind Jackson in the Daily News 2000, and who posted the fastest last 400 metres seen for years at Greyville, and Sols Gold who was a 60-1 winner on her first start at the Vaal in June.
Whatever the future for Ice Axe, he has reached the summit of success and looks to be climbing into the stratosphere now.
| Lisa Barrett – Guest Writer “Lisa Barrett”, her psuedonym, currently works at a stud farm in the KZN Midlands – a position she has held for the past eight years. She describes herself as “absolutely and totally besotted by horses” and she is in a fortunate position to work with a stallion she idolises every day. She describes herself as “continually fascinated by every aspect of the racehorse business, especially pedigrees!” |