Firenze Fire Hopes to Rebound in Vosburgh Stakes

When it was announced Sept. 21 that Volatile had been retired with a hairline fracture of his right front cannon bone, it surely changed the complexion of the $2 million Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1).

Ditto for the Vosburgh Stakes (G2).

Just two days before Volatile's career-ending injury was announced, New York Racing Association stakes coordinator Andrew Byrnes was looking at just three probable starters for the six-furlong stakes, with the standout being Volatile, a winner of five of six starts who was doing an excellent job of scaring off rivals.

Now, without trainer Steve Asmussen's brilliantly fast grade 1 winner in the mix, the $150,000 Vosburgh will take place Sept. 26 with a larger and much more competitive field of six at Belmont Park.

One horse unaffected by the new cast of characters is the grade 1-winning Firenze Fire. Owned by Ron Lombardi's Mr. Amore Stable and trained by Kelly Breen, he's the only one of the three probables from last week whose name was dropped in the entry box (T Loves a Fight was the other) for a race that will hand the winner a free "Win and You're In" spot in the Sprint.

"We were coming regardless of who else was in there," Breen said.

Firenze Fire's status came into a sharper view Sept. 17 when the homebred son of Poseidon's Warrior turned in a quick :59 1/5 five-furlong bullet work at Belmont Park that dispelled any notion that a dull, last-place finish on a sloppy racetrack at Saratoga Race Course Aug. 29 in the seven-furlong Forego Stakes Presented by America's Best Racing (G1) was a sign of declining form.

"That work gave me the thumbs-up for running in the Vosburgh," Breen said. "He had a fantastic workout. We're hoping he runs well here and wins so we can have a 'Win and You're In' spot under our belt going into Keeneland. I think he didn't like the mud last time."

The 5-year-old Firenze Fire notched his grade 1 win at Belmont Park, taking the 2017 Champagne Stakes (G1), and has won four of his seven career starts at the Elmont, N.Y., track, and was beaten by a nose in last year's Vosburgh. Out of the Langfuhr mare My Every Wish, the Florida-bred has won 11 of 28 starts with earnings of $1,955,750.

One of the new players is Calumet Farm's True Timber, who should be a factor in the 81st Vosburgh. The 6-year-old son of Mineshaft  was third by 1 1/4 lengths last time out in the Forego, which was contested in a torrential downpour at the Spa.

"We had the (Oct. 3) Kelso (G2) penciled in for him, but without Volatile, it changed our plans. True Timber has a good deal of speed and he's 3-for-6 at the three-quarters distance. It's his third race off a layoff, he's working well, so why not capitalize on when he's doing well instead of waiting a week to run," trainer Jack Sisterson said. 

The veteran campaigner is winless in graded stakes company and has not posted a victory since a Sept. 16, 2018, allowance optional claimer at Belmont Park but has been quite competitive in some of the top graded stakes for older horses, including a second in the 2018 Cigar Mile Handicap Presented by NYRA Bets (G1) and in 2019, a third in both the Cigar Mile and Kelso Handicap.

"He tries so hard. We'd love to get that graded win for him," Sisterson said. "You look at his form and he's finished behind Maximum Security and other horses like that and has earned more than a million dollars. He's going into Saturday's race in great shape, and we're optimistic that he can run a big race."

Out of the Tiznow  mare Queen's Wood, True Timber has won four of his 26 starts with earnings of $1,038,650.

Depending on what happens Saturday, Sisterson said he would be open to pointing True Timber to either the six-furlong Sprint or the Big Ass Fans Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1) on the Nov. 7 card at Keeneland. He also has two other Calumet horses in the mix for those races in Lexitonian, who is scheduled to run in Keeneland's Oct. 2 Stoll Keenon Ogden Phoenix Stakes (G2) at six furlongs, and Everfast, who is entered in Saturday's mile Ack Ack Stakes (G2) at Churchill Downs.

As for the Vosburgh, the field also includes Stan the Man, who was listed as a possibility for the race last week, the New York-bred Funny Guy, Share the Ride, and Engage, who is trained by Asmussen and will be making his first start since finishing fourth in last year's Sprint at Santa Anita Park.

Entries: Vosburgh S. (G2)

Belmont Park, Saturday, September 26, 2020, Race 9

• Grade II
• 6f
• Dirt
• $150,000
• 3 yo's & up
• 5:14 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1True Timber (KY)	Kendrick Carmouche	124	Jack Sisterson	9/2
2	2Funny Guy (NY)	Joel Rosario	124	John P. Terranova II	5/2
3	3Stan the Man (KY)	John R. Velazquez	124	John P. Terranova II	8/1
4	4Share the Ride (KY)	Manuel Franco	124	Antonio Arriaga	6/1
5	5Firenze Fire (FL)	Jose Lezcano	124	Kelly J. Breen	7/2
6	6Engage (KY)	Jose L. Ortiz	124	Steven M. Asmussen	2/1