Wild On Ice

Wild On Ice, a Texas-bred Tapizar gelding, won his first two career starts in late 2022 at Zia Park at sprint distances. He resurfaced in winter 2023 at Sunland Park and competed in two consecutive stakes races, finishing last of nine in the Riley Allison Stakes and then third in the Mine That Bird Derby.

The gelding was bumped at the start of the Mine That Bird Derby and finished 20 ¾ lengths behind frontrunning winner Henry Q, and that effort made him a 35-1 longshot in his next race, the Grade 3 Sunland Park Derby on March 26. Wild On Ice stalked a sizzling pace set by dueling Henry Q and California shipper Hard to Figure, and both he and fellow longshot Low Expectations capitalized when the field reached the homestretch. Wild On Ice dueled with Low Expectations to the finish and inched clear late under regular jockey Ken Tohill, scoring an upset win by 1 ¼  lengths. 

Since he earned 50 qualifying points with the Sunland Park Derby win, Wild On Ice’s connections paid a fee to nominate the gelding to the Triple Crown, and he shipped to Churchill Downs to train for the 2023 Derby. Sadly, on April 27 he suffered a catastrophic injury while working out on the track and was euthanized.