Pyro fires in Forego

Pyro earned his first Grade 1 victory (EquiSport Photos) Godolphin Racing’s PYRO (Pulpit) raced next to last for the opening half-mile of Saturday’s $300,000 Forego S. (G1) at Saratoga but put in a winning rally while negotiating his way through a wall of traffic to be up by a half-length on the line under jockey John Velazquez. The Saeed bin Suroor trainee, sent off the 4-1 second choice, paid $10.20, $4.60 and $3.60 for finishing up the seven, fast-track furlongs in 1:21 2/5. Multidude (Fusaichi Pegasus) and Riley Tucker (Harlan’s Holiday) battled it out on the front end through fractions of :22 2/5 and :45 1/5 while Pyro was as much as 10 1/2 lengths behind. Riley Tucker had wrested the lead away and was clear through six furlongs in 1:09, but Velazquez was already guiding Pyro closer. The dark bay colt went wide when he found his way blocked by horses, then split runners while five wide in upper stretch. He found room between rivals and got up while holding 6-5 favorite Kodiak Kowboy (Posse) to second. “We weren’t really worried when he broke a little slow — he has a history of doing that,” assistant trainer Rick Mettee said. “I didn’t know if the (half-mile) was fast enough, but they thinned out and Johnny (Velazquez) gave him a perfect trip. To beat a horse like Kodiak Kowboy, you’ve got to pull a perfect trip. I could tell he had horse left at the quarter-pole, but he pulled a really good trip which isn’t easy to do in a big field like this.

“It’s been one of those magical meets, everything’s gone right and we really
appreciate it because of the Belmont meet we had.”

On Pyro’s next start, which is undecided, Mettee added, “The Breeders’ Cup being on
synthetic
changes the game completely. I wouldn’t completely rule it out, but I’m not
sure.”

“It was awesome,” Velazquez said. “I had
ridden
him the time before, so I knew him a little bit, how to handle him. I was biding
my time
with him, just waiting for a seam to open, and when it did he was there for me.
It was very nice.”

Kodiak Kowboy was worth $3.20 and $2.50 while withstanding the rush of
Ready’s Echo (More Than Ready), who was another half-length back in third and
gave back $5.30 at 12-1.

“It’s
a little disappointing, but he’s running very well,” trainer Larry Jones said of
Kodiak Kowboy. “He’s very consistent. We
knew there
were a lot of horses in here who, if they ran their ‘A’ race, were going to be
tough to
beat. This wasn’t an easy spot, but Grade 1s never are. We didn’t think we’d be
that far
back, especially given the fractions, but Pyro was farther back than we were, so
maybe
that’s where we needed to be.”

The exacta returned $25.40, the trifecta totaled $141
and the 1-2-3-10 superfecta, with My Pal Charlie (Indian Charlie) filling the
fourth spot, resulted in a $648 payout. Riley Tucker followed in fifth, then came True
Quality (Elusive Quality), Keep Laughing (Distorted Humor), Driven by Success
(Precise End), Gold Trippi (Trippi), Peace Chant (War Chant), Multidude and Law
Enforcement (Posse).

This was Pyro’s first visit to the winner’s circle since taking the Northern
Dancer S. (G3) at Churchill Downs last year. He also scored victories in the
Louisiana Derby (G2) and Risen Star S. (G3) as a sophomore, and placed in such
events as the Travers S. (G1), Jim Dandy S. (G1) and Indiana Derby (G2). Second
in the 2007 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) and Champagne S. (G1), the four-year-old
colt has made just one start this season, running second by a half-length in the
James Marvin S. over track and distance on July 29. This first Grade 1 score
puts Pyro’s earnings at $1,664,673, and his line now reads 15-5-5-2.

Bred in Kentucky by Winchell Thoroughbreds, Pyro is out of Wild Vision (Wild
Again), who broke her maiden by five lengths in her only trip to the racetrack.
Wild Vision has also produced this year’s Silverbulletday S. (G3) winner, War
Echo (Tapit), an unnamed yearling full brother to that filly and an unnamed 2009
full brother to Pyro. She also has an unraced juvenile colt named Crosseyed
(Gulch). She is herself a daughter of Grade 3-placed Carol’s Wonder
(Pass the Tab), and counts Grade 2-winning sire Wild Wonder as a full brother.

Pyro’s second dam, Carol’s Christmas (Whitesburg), is responsible for Grade 1
victor and sire Olympio (Naskra), Grade 2 heroine Call Now (Wild Again), and the
dams of Grade 2 winners Fun House (Prized), Early Flyer (Gilded Time), Will He
Shine (Silver Deputy) and Bien Nicole (Bien Bien). Also included in the family
are Grade 1 king Cuvee (Carson City) and Paddy O’Prado (El Prado [Ire]), who ran
third in Friday’s With Anticipation S. (G3).