Pants on Fire burns up the track in Ack Ack

Pants on Fire lit up the night under the Twin Spires in the Ack Ack (Churchill Downs/Reed Palmer Photography)

George and Lori Hall’s Pants on Fire set a new stakes record Saturday night
at Churchill Downs when posting a final time of 1:33.78 in the Grade 3, $110,700
Ack Ack
Handicap with jockey Paco Lopez aboard. The Jump Start five-year-old was
sent off the 5-2 second choice in the eight-horse field and paid $7 to his
backers for the win, which just missed the track record time of 1:33.31 set by
Infrattini last November.

Right to Vote headed straight for the lead when the gates opened, setting
splits of :22 3/5 and :45 1/5 while pressed by Taptowne on the outside. Lanerie
had Pants on Fire just off the latter’s flank on the inside with Brethren saving
ground on the rail in the tightly bunched group.

Right to Vote tried to maintain his momentum into the stretch, but was
already beginning to look a little weary as Pants on Fire went wide around the
turn. The eventual winner set his sights on Taptowne, who had take over entering
the stretch, and the dark bay easily slid past to record the 2 3/4-length
victory.

Taptowne was game in defeat, easily holding second by three parts of a length
over Good Morning Diva. It was another 3 1/2 lengths back to early pacesetter
Right to Vote while Sabercat, Looking Cool, Moe Man and Brethren completed the
order of finish.

Pants on Fire was earning his fifth career stakes victory in this spot and
his second straight following a 1 3/4-length score in the Monmouth Cup at his
homebase. Aside from his signature win in the 2011 Louisiana Derby at Fair
Grounds, the Kelly Breen trainee landed that season’s Pegasus as well as the
2012 Skip Away at the Jersey Shore.