David Heerensperger’s Fire With Fire successfully reverted to off-the-pace
tactics in Saturday’s Grade 2, $201,000
Charles Whittingham Handicap at Santa Anita, delivering a well-timed move to
catch Segway at the wire.
Trained by Hall of Famer Neil Drysdale — a former assistant to the legendary
Whittingham — and ridden by Tyler Baze, Fire With Fire had been on the engine
in his last two starts. The Distorted Humor gelding wired the 1 1/2-mile San
Luis Rey on March 22, and nearly repeated the feat when shortening up to 1 1/8
miles in the April 25 Last Tycoon, only to be nailed by Quick Casablanca in the
final strides.
The 1 1/4-mile Whittingham shaped up as a rematch from the Last Tycoon, but
it played out rather differently. With plenty of speed signed on, Fire With Fire
was content to settle early and play his hand late.
Soi Phet and Bright Thought matched strides through a quick opening quarter
in :23 2/5 on the firm turf, then Bright Thought established himself as the
leader. Segway, who initially sat in third, ranged up to engage Bright Thought
through fractions of :46 3/5 and 1:11 1/5.
When Bright Thought was spent on the far turn, Segway took command, reached
the mile mark in 1:35 3/5, and tried to build up an unassailable advantage in
the stretch. But Baze produced Fire With Fire, while his rival Quick Casablanca
also launched a rally from last, and both began to erase the deficit inside the
final furlong.
Although Segway tried to hang on, his advantage was diminishing alarmingly
with every stride. Fire With Fire had too much momentum and forced his neck in
front in a final time of 2:00 4/5, with Quick Casablanca another neck away in
third. An overlay at 7-1, Fire With Fire returned $16.60 to win.
Another 2 1/4 lengths astern in fourth came Irish Surf. Bright Thought tired
to fifth, and next came Soi Phet, Dr Action, African Oil and Joelito.
Fire With Fire improved his record to 32-7-8-5, $655,354. First sold for
$290,000 as a Keeneland September yearling, the gray began his career with Hall
of Fame trainer Bill Mott, for whom he finished third in the 2011 Kent in his
stakes debut. Later that fall, he brought $140,000 at Keeneland November, and
moved to another Hall of Famer in Drysdale. Fire With Fire was third in the 2012
Del Mar ‘Cap, and filled that same spot in the 2013 edition of the San Luis Rey,
won by Bright Thought in then world-record time of 2:22.72.
Last August, Fire With Fire broke through with his first stakes score in the
Joseph T. Grace, accomplished in a course-record 1:40 3/5 for 1 1/16 miles at
Santa Rosa. He was awarded the victory via disqualification in the Bull Dog
Handicap at Fresno, and also placed in the Ralph M. Hinds Handicap and Berkeley
Handicap. Fifth in the January 4 San Gabriel, he launched a raid on Turf
Paradise to plunder the January 18 Cotton Fitzsimmons Mile, before returning to
Santa Anita for his profitable spring campaign.
Bred by Patricia Pavlish in Kentucky, Fire With Fire is the third stakes
performer produced by the Grade 2-placed Cosmic Fire, by Capote. She is
responsible for Cosmonaut, two-time winner of the Arlington Handicap who also
captured the Golden Gate Fields Handicap and Fort Marcy and placed in such
events as the Shadwell Turf Mile and Breeders’ Cup Mile. He is now a promising
young sire. Cosmic Fire’s other notable offspring are the stakes-placed Kickin’
the Clouds (dam of Grade 2-placed Cloudy Vow) and Cosmic Wish (dam of Japanese
Grade 3 victor Ijigen).
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