Group One return for Icebath

[Wandering Eyes]

Group One performer Icebath (NZ) (Sacred Falls) has trainer Brad Widdup excited ahead of her spring preparation.

The daughter of Sacred Falls has returned in great order from her winter spell according to the Hawkesbury conditioner.

With the deluge of rain in autumn, Icebath had an interrupted preparation but still managed to post successive placings in the Gr.1 Doncaster Mile (1600m), Gr.1 Queen of the Turf (1600m) and Gr.3 JRA Plate (2000m).

While disheartened at the time, Widdup now believes her light workload earlier in the year has paid dividends ahead of her spring campaign.

“She is in great order,” Widdup told RacingHQ. “She had a mixed preparation last time through, but it is probably going to help her.

“There were days where we couldn’t do much with the floods, so it was very frustrating.

“She did a terrific job to run third in the Doncaster and Queen of the Turf.

“But looking back now it probably helped her, because she is in great order.”

With a wet spring forecast, many pundits would think Widdup would be rubbing his hands together, however, he isn’t overly perturbed by what track conditions they are met by over the coming months.

“She still runs terrific on good tracks and she has been beaten on Heavy10s,” he said.

She will get her first look at Randwick this spring on Saturday, where she will be first-up in the Gr.1 Winx Stakes (1400m).

Widdup purchased the Waikato Stud-bred filly in Australia as a yearling for $100,000.

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