Grey Ice looks a mare to follow with confidence through the autumn following the daughter of Reliable Man’s stirring return to competition at Caulfield.
The Gerry Harvey-bred four-year-old opened her preparation with an impressive victory over 1600 metres on Saturday for Laming Racing and rider Craig Newitt.
Grey Ice had been fitted to resume with multiple trials on her home track at Cranbourne and while she started at 23 to one, the stable was quietly confident.
“The draw was the biggest concern, she’s a mare that takes a bit to get into stride and she ended up back on the rail, which is where I thought she would be and it was a good ride,” Richard Laming said.
“She’d had three trials and done plenty of work, she just needed to get the right run and she put them away well.”
Grey Ice was into the clear nearing the home turn and lengthened stride impressively to win by a comfortable three-quarters of a length.
“She travelled kindly on a good tempo and she was way too good,” Newitt said.
“Her work on Tuesday morning had suggested that she was going to run a really good race.”
Grey Ice now has a quartet of victories from her 15 starts and Laming is looking forward to getting the mare up to a middle distance.
“She hasn’t always had a lot of luck and she’ll get 2000 and maybe 2400 metres, she’s bred to go over ground,” Laming said.
Grey Ice was purchased out of Westbury Stud’s draft at New Zealand Bloodstock’s Ready to Run Sale for $130,000 by John White Bloodstock.
Her dam is the unraced Encosta De Lago mare Haliburton, who is a half-sister to the G2 Chelmsford Stakes winner and G1 Rosehill Guineas runner-up Nevis.
They are out of the former top-class New Zealand performer Tartan Tights, successful at Group 1 level in the New Zealand Oaks and the New Zealand 1000 Guineas.
Haliburton has an unraced two-year-old filly by Redwood and produced a brother to Grey Ice last season.