First-Crop Sires: Keen Ice continues to make mark

Keen Ice, the only horse to beat American Pharoah in his Triple Crown-winning season, is one of the sires with first-crop two-year-olds the TwinSpires team is following in 2021.

For a sire best known for his stamina, Keen Ice is continuing to make a nice start with his first crop of juveniles – especially with his fillies.

In earlier editions of this series we covered Icy Storm, Ice Breaker, She Nasty, and Miss Chamita, Keen Ice’s first four winners.

Since then, his number of winners has gone from four to seven, and his progeny continue to look like horses with the potential to get better as distances increase.

Winner number five came courtesy of She’s Peachy Keen in a maiden special weight event at Delaware Park on Aug. 21. Out of the gate slowly, She’s Peachy Keen made use of her ace inside post to take the lead within a quarter-mile and was in control from there, scoring by a comfortable 1 1/2 lengths.

She’s Peachy Keen is out of the Royal Academy mare W W Old School and was a $47,000 purchase at the Ocala Breeders’ Sales April two-year-old sale.

 

Four days later at the same track, Golden Eib Micrphn was too smart for a maiden claiming field over five furlongs. Out of the gate very quickly, Golden Eib Micrphn was in control the whole way and won by a very easy 4 3/4 lengths.

Golden Eib Micrphn was sold for a mere $4,000 at the Keeneland September yearling sale last year. She is out of the Outflanker mare Annabill.

Keen Ice’s seventh winner came at Thistledown. She’s Pure Silver had failed to flatter when eighth of nine on debut at Presque Isle Downs on the all-weather track, but she had some support when she headed to the Ohio dirt at 9-1. The gray filly got out of the gate quickly and was never headed, winning by three-quarters of a length.

She’s Pure Silver is out of the Tapit mare Form Fitting and was a $15,000 purchase at the Ocala June sale after being bought earlier for $4,000 at the Keeneland September yearling sale.

Interestingly, all but Keen Ice’s first winner, Icy Storm, are fillies; however, his second-highest earner, Who Hoo Thats Me, is a colt. He has run twice for a first-start second placing and a fifth-place finish in the Funny Cide S. for New York-breds.

Keen Ice was best known as a closer who enjoyed distances of 1 1/4 miles and further. His most notable victories were the 2015 Travers S. (G1), defeating American Pharoah, and the 2017 Suburban H. (G2), defeating Shaman Ghost. His progeny should get better with age and distance.

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About the series

Freshman Orientation is a series highlighting five different sires with a first crop of two-year-old Thoroughbreds. Could the juveniles show up at the Breeders' Cup or even the 2022 Kentucky Derby? Follow along and find out!