Travers winner Summer Bird, who this week was named Eclipse champion 3-year-old male, is still on the mend at Oaklawn Park.

The chestnut colt fractured a leg while training for the Japan Cup Dirt in late November. He was flown back to California for surgery, which he came through with flying colors, and then shipped to trainer Tim Ice's barn to recover.

"He’s coming along … I’m optimistic,” Ice said. "He’s walking 20 minutes a day now and will increase to 30 minutes a day on Monday. At the Eclipse Awards, I talked to [Dr. Wayne McIlwraith], who did his surgery. He looked at his X-rays and we’re keeping it month-to-month now. On March 1, we’ll know more about when he’ll go back to the track."

Ice and owners Drs. K.K. and Vilasini Jayaraman traveled to Beverly Hills for the Eclipse Awards ceremony on Monday night. Summer Bird, who became the first horse since Hall of Famer Easy Goer in 1989 to sweep the Belmont, Travers and Jockey Club Gold Cup in the same season, was named champion with 225 first-place votes ( Derby winner Mine That Bird was second with four votes). Summer Bird also finished third in the Arkansas Derby, second to Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra in the Haskell and finished his season with a credible fourth behind Zenyatta in the Breeders' Cup Classic.

"It was exciting and I enjoyed every minute of the evening,” Ice said of the ceremony. "We were pretty confident we would win, but you just never know how the voting will go."

At this time last year, Summer Bird was an unraced maiden and Ice, who was in his first year of training on his own, was a relative unknown. There are big plans for both this year. Should Summer Bird continue to heal well and regain his earlier form, his ultimate goal will be the Breeders' Cup Classic at Churchill Downs. He's expected to spend the summer and fall in New York again, as Ice, who enjoyed his experience at Saratoga last year, plans to move the bulk of his stable to the NYRA circuit this year.

The trainer has 27 horses in training for his longtime supporters the Jayaramans; among these is Indy Squall, a 3-year-old half brother to Summer Bird, expected to make his first start at the Oaklawn meet. Ice's success has also attracted some new clients. One is Marylou Whitney, owner of Belmont-Travers winner Birdstone, the sire of Summer Bird and Mine That Bird. Last fall, she sent Ice a pair of horses to work with.