BELMONT, N.Y. — Just minutes before a torrential downpour at Belmont Park on Friday, Belmont aficionado Firenze Fire was able to add a new chapter to his love affair with the local strip, opening up the day’s graded stakes action with a determined victory in the Grade 2, $300,000 True North for older dirt sprinters at 6 ½ furlongs.
The race didn’t come a moment too soon for the 6-year-old son of Poseidon’s Warrior, who, despite relishing the Belmont surface under dry conditions, has a reciprocal disdain for wet tracks. The multi-millionaire hasn’t missed a beat in 2021 for trainer Kelly Breen, opening up the year with a 3 ¼-length score in the Grade 3 Runhappy over this track on May 8, and he was able to notch his seventh career victory from 10 starts at Belmont in the True North, which he won for the second straight year.
“He’s been training great,” said Breen, who took over training duties from Jason Servis early last year. “I think he’s more even-keel now. I’m getting to know him even more than last year and maybe he’s getting to know me, also. It’s a pretty good combo right now.”
Breaking from the rail with Jose Ortiz aboard, who was subbing in for his brother Irad after a spill on Thursday forced the regular rider of Firenze Fire out of action, the Mr Amore Stable color-bearer was hustled out of the gate to attain forward position after Grade 1 winner Flagstaff broke on top and looked momentarily like the lone speed. Ortiz and Firenze Fire weren’t content to let that happen, however, and the pair shot through an opening on the rail to engage Flagstaff, which set in motion a nearly race-long duel between the two horses.
The pair of classy sprinters rumbled along down the backstretch through an opening quarter-mile in 22.71 seconds and continued to spar around the far turn with the half going in 45.39 as American Power sat a couple lengths off them in third. Flagstaff turned up the heat as the field entered the stretch, but Firenze Fire was resolute on the rail and dug in to prevail by 1 ½ lengths in the end. He completed the distance in 1:15.52 on the track rated good.
“[Irad] said he’s a very nice horse and that he was going to break good,” said the replacement Ortiz. “He told me he thought he was a better horse on the outside. But he got the rail and he jumped good and I didn’t want to take anything away from him. I rode him like he was the best horse and he was the best horse.”
The win was Firenze Fire’s 14th from 33 career starts, and the winner’s share of the purse of $165,000 brought him close to the $2.5 million earnings mark. As the even-money favorite, he returned $4.10 on a $2 win wager.
“We’ll definitely see him at Saratoga this summer,” Breen said of the next possible assignment for his star pupil. “There’s another race here on the Fourth of July weekend [Grade 2, $250,000 John A. Nerud]. And he does like this racetrack.”
Trained by John Sadler for Lane’s End Racing and Hronis Racing LLC, Flagstaff had a two-race win streak snapped in the True North. The 7-year-old Speightstown gelding, a half-brother to champion Game Winner, had shed his reputation for coming up short in big spots with wins earlier this year in the Grade 1 Churchill Downs and Grade 3 Commonwealth, but despite turning in a valiant effort, he again had to settle for a minor award.
“That was a tough stretch duel,” said Luis Saez, jockey aboard Flagstaff. “We broke pretty well. He handled the track even though it was his first time on it, and we were right there. He fought very hard, but Firenze Fire is tough. He’s a real tough horse. For a second there, I thought we were going to beat him but he kept going. He never gave up.”
Two and a quarter lengths behind Flagstaff, American Power also continued his run of strong form with a third-place finish. The 6-year-old son of Power Broker was claimed for $40,000 last summer at Saratoga Race Course by trainer Rob Atras and rattled off four straight victories for his new connections in late 2020 and early 2021, including a graded-stakes tally in the Grade 3 Toboggan on January 30 at Aqueduct Racetrack.
It was another length back to Wicked Trick in fourth, who was followed home by Phat Man, Looking At Bikinis, and Big Engine.
True North replay
https://youtu.be/qWblf81abuA
The Belmont Stakes Racing Festival continues Saturday and is headlined by the 153rd running of the Grade 1, $1.5 million Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets. Belmont Stakes Day will feature nine graded stakes, including eight Grade 1s, capped by the “Test of the Champion” for 3-year-olds in the 1 1/2-mile final leg of the Triple Crown. First post on Saturday is 11:35 a.m. Eastern.
Starting on May 1, Belmont Park re-opened to a limited number of spectators. All admission must be purchased in advance at nyra.com/belmont/tickets/.
For comprehensive information on health and safety protocols in effect for the Belmont Park spring/summer meet, please visit: https://www.nyra.com/belmont/visit/plan-your-visit.
NYRA Press Office
Photo: Firenze Fire, Jose Ortiz up. (NYRA/Coglianese)
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