A cheer went up around Gulfstream Park as Haulin Ice powered past the finish line in a commanding front-running victory Saturday, clinching the $200,000 Princess Rooney (G3) and a guaranteed spot in the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint at Del Mar. Trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. and jockey Edgard Zayas watched as the 4-year-old Arkansas-bred filly carved out a performance that thrilled her connections and the crowd alike.
“She’s incredible. Back-to-back Rooneys and headed back to the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint,” said Clint Cornett, managing partner of C2 Racing Stable LLC. “This little horse, we bought her out of Oaklawn. She’s a little grinder. We couldn’t be more excited for C2, Miller Racing, and all of our partners. This is great.”
Haulin Ice, one of three Joseph-trained runners in a field of seven, took control immediately under Zayas, setting moderate fractions of 23.01 and 45.50 seconds through a fast-paced seven furlongs. She extended her lead to win by 4 ¾ lengths on the ‘good’ track in 1:22.80, demonstrating a powerful finish that belied concerns about the slightly longer distance.
“She really finished out very nice. I know seven furlongs might be a little stretch for her, but the way she put up the fractions in the beginning, she really came home very nice,” Zayas said.
The 5-2 second choice also made history, becoming the richest Arkansas-bred thoroughbred ever with career earnings now at $958,650, surpassing Nodouble, whose record of $846,749 included a third-place finish in the 1968 Preakness (G1).
Longshot Nerazurri (41-1), trained by Angel Quiroz and ridden by Edgar Perez, stayed closest to Haulin Ice for most of the race and finished second, a half-length ahead of Gustavo Delgado-trained Reputation. Vincey Girl, trained by Jose D’Angelo, crossed the line 1 ½ lengths further back in fourth.
Haulin Ice’s Joseph-trained stablemates Claret Beret, the 8-5 favorite, and Ultimate Authority finished fifth and seventh, respectively. Mystic Lake, another Joseph trainee, was scratched from the Princess Rooney in favor of the Liberty Bell at Parx, where she earned her fourth consecutive stakes win.
Haulin Ice, a daughter of Coal Front purchased privately at Oaklawn last year, had her four-race winning streak interrupted with a second-place finish in the Aug. 16 Sheer Drama Stakes. On Saturday, she showed she was back to her best, controlling the pace and sprinting home with authority.
“It looked like there was no speed at all in the race,” Zayas said. “Today, she was the speed of the speed, and she put up pretty easy fractions and then sprinted home.”
Read full coverage of the Princess Rooney and other Gulfstream Park races on RaceBuzz.
