Chop The Ice is good early morning windscreen treatment advice up Goulburn way at this time of year!
It’s also the name of Gratz Vella ‘s consistent three-year-old who tackles the Elite Haulage Benchmark 66 Handicap over 1200m at the tablelands track on Friday.
Vella is a regular visitor to Goulburn from his long-term Canberra base and his horses are always worthy of respect. Chop The Ice is Vella’s only runner on Friday but he’s a horse his trainer has a lot of time for.
“He showed us early potential in his first few runs and was runner up to a nice horse on debut,” Vella said.
Vella was referring to group performer Ganbare (Waterhouse-Bott) who was only a half-length to the good of Chop The Ice on that occasion.
Vella who won a Black Opal with You’re Canny (2011) sent Chop The Ice around in the 2023 edition of the same race as a maiden.
Since then Vella says he’s a horse that’s had a few tricks to him….so if he wants to act the goat then we’ve shown him how to….literally!
“He was a bit of a barrier rogue at one stage and around the stable he can wander and weave when you least expect it,” Vella explained.
“We decided to get him a stable friend this preparation, so his pal around home is a little goat (Millie). He’s a big growing boy and we’ve found that the company just keeps him more settled and down to earth.”
Chop The Ice has had four well-spaced runs this time in with his trainer lamenting what could have been when he kicked off the galloper’s campaign.
“He was very unlucky first up when running second at Albury.”
The horse just missed out in a tight finish and then tested the stewards’ mettle with a further protest request.
Chop The Ice heads back to Goulburn on Friday with a consistent overall record well under construction. From twelve starts Vella’s charge has won two races and finished top four on another six occasions.
Vella says punters should forgive his latest Goulburn outing.
“You can forget his last start, he’s ready to get back out there and race on Friday over 1200m. I would like to maybe see him up a bit closer in the run if we can.”
The horse finished seventh last time out over a longer trip but there could be a bonus Friday form reference in that for punters. Race winner Toes In The Water (Nick Olive) proving the result was no ‘splash in the pan’ by progressing to a TAB Highway Handicap victory at Rosehill Gardens last Saturday.
Regular hoop Damon Budler does a lot of trackwork for Vella and retains the ride on Friday.
Vella has been visiting Goulburn via his Canberra base for many years and is chipping away with a twenty-eight-strong team at present.
He’s averaging at least a winner or two a month so far this year, translated to three in in April, two in May and another late last month after the Vella -Budler combination closed out June when Good Prize lived up to his name by winning at Moruya last week.
Vella will look to keep the winning winter feeling going at Goulburn on Friday with Chop The Ice out to prove that ‘acting the goat’ can be something a horse can make a living out of.
PHOTO: CHOP THE ICE WITH STABLE MATE MILLIE THE GOAT
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