When Bombaguia was headed by Air Support at the wire in Saturday’s Grade 2
Bowling Green, it marked the third consecutive time trainer John Kimmel wound up
on the losing side of a photo in a stakes.
“But on the other side of the coin, they all ran pretty good,” said Kimmel,
who saw Agilion finish second by a head to Effie Trinket and Sailmate come up a
half-length short of Fiddlers Afleet in a pair of overnight stakes at Saratoga.
Kimmel initially had not planned on running Bombaguia back on 13 days rest
after he won an optional claimer at the Spa, but the GoldMark Farm gelding was
doing so well the owners agreed to supplement him when the field came up small.
“He put in a good effort. He ended up being the controlling speed in the
race, which gave us a bit of an edge,” Kimmel said.
The trainer said he would give the four-year-old son of Borrego a bit of a
break and bring him back in a month or so, with the Grade 3 Knickerbocker on
October 13 or the Grade 2 Red Smith on November 3 at Aqueduct possible options.
Kimmel added he is looking forward to the return of two of his stable stars
— multiple stakes winner Friend or Foe and three-year-old Fire on Ice, who is
entered in the 1ST race at Belmont on Thursday, a six-furlong optional claimer.
Friend or Foe, unraced since finishing fourth in the Grade 1 Whitney last
year, had his first work at Belmont this year on Saturday, covering three
furlongs in :37 on the fast dirt training track.
“He went in :37 and out in :49,” Kimmel said of Friends Lake chestnut. “We’ll
start some half-miles and see what happens. His legs are good, he looks good on
the racetrack. We’ll look to bring him back maybe in October.”
Fire on Ice has made only a single start, but it was an eye-catching one.
Last August, he rolled to a 10 3/4-length maiden win at the Spa, but then
suffered a non-displaced condylar fracture in his left hind leg while training
for the Grade 1 Champagne.
“He’ll have to shake a year’s worth of rust off,” Kimmel remarked. “He’s
doing pretty good. His last few breezes have been good. He’s getting smart,
though — when he outworks his company, he doesn’t even gallop out strong. He’s
active, though; this morning he cleared out the shedrow.”
The gray son of Unbridled’s Song posted his most recent move on Friday when
breezing five furlongs on Belmont’s fast main track in 1:00 3/5.
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