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Ice to train Uptowncharlybrown Trainer Tim Ice will take over the training of 11 horses owned by Fantasy Lane Stable, including the talented three-year-old UPTOWNCHARLYBROWN (Limehouse), who will be pointed to the $1 million Belmont S. (G1) on June 5, Ice said Friday. The late Alan Seewald, who died unexpectedly on April 12, previously trained for Fantasy Lane. "Alan was my best friend for 25 years," said Seewald's longtime friend, Bob Hutt, who manages the Fantasy Lane partnership. "He was a very good trainer and an even better human being. He waited all his life to get a big horse, and when he died he had two -- Uptowncharlybrown, who you've heard of, and Joyce's Angel (Afleet Alex), a filly you'll soon hear more about. Alan told us he didn't know which one was the better horse." Uptowncharlybrown and Joyce's Angel have similarities -- both were foaled on February 6, 2007, and both came out of the same OBS 2009 spring two-year-old sale. Uptowncharlybrown was a $57,000 purchase, while Joyce's Angel sold for $60,000. Uptowncharlybrown has now assembled a 5- 2-0-2 record, winning the Pasco S. and running third in the Tampa Bay Derby (G3) over the winter. He was most recently third in the Lexington S. (G2) at Keeneland on April 17. Joyce's Angel broke her maiden in her second start at Tampa Bay Downs on April 3 after narrowly missing in her first effort on February 27. "It was my son, Aaron, who first suggested Tim's name to me, but it was right after Alan died and I wasn't ready to think about it," Hutt said. "Everyone started calling me to throw their hats into the ring, and when I was down at the sales earlier this month, another close friend said I should consider talking to Tim, and he came to New Jersey and I interviewed him with some of our partners. "He was very impressive and we were looking for someone who was familiar with handling world-class horses. Tim understands the grief we're all going through after losing Alan and he seemed like a natural fit. It feels like fate intervened to put us together." Ice, 34, saddled 2009 three-year-old colt champion Summer Bird (Birdtsone) to victories in three of the biggest races on the New York circuit last year -- the Belmont S., Travers S. (G1), and Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1). Summer Bird was the first three-year-old since Easy Goer in 1989 to sweep all three races in a single year. "We think Charly is as good as any of the horses in the (Kentucky) Derby (G1) Saturday and he'll run all day," Hutt said. "We believe we'll be running in the Belmont with a couple of angels looking down on us, and I hope this is the beginning of a beautiful story."
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