Lombardi Hopes to Put Servis in the Winner's Circle

For owner Ron Lombardi, there's much more involved in the Runhappy Stakes than a $150,000 purse.

Lombardi, who races under the banner of Mr. Amore Stable, will send out the grade 1-winning homebred Firenze Fire in the six-furlong stakes for older horses May 11 at Belmont Park, and he fully understands the importance of a victory.

Not just for him or his 4-year-old colt, but for his trainer, Jason Servis, who is coming to terms with being the trainer of the only horse disqualified from first for a racetrack foul in the 145-year history of the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1).

Having worked with Servis for the past 12 years, Lombardi knows the celebration will be sweeter than usual if Firenze Fire can emerge victorious Saturday. It will not change what happened to Maximum Security in the Kentucky Derby, but he knows how important a win can be when it comes to helping Servis move forward after such a crushing blow in the sport's biggest and most famous race—especially since Firenze Fire was Servis' first Kentucky Derby starter.

"Absolutely, there would be special satisfaction in getting Jason into the winner's circle," Lombardi said. "I feel the pain with him, but nobody can feel the pain he and the owners are going through right now. A victory would be huge for Jason. He has to get back to business, and he's doing that. He was back on the track Wednesday and Thursday and on the pony. He knows it's what he has to do. He has to move on."

Lombardi said he sent Servis a congratulatory text immediately after the Kentucky Derby but did not reach out again until the following morning.

"What could I say that night?" Lombardi said. "I knew people were bombarding him."

Instead, Lombardi and Servis engaged in a 45-minute talk the next morning.

"Remember Hillary Clinton after the (presidential) election?" Lombardi said. "Jason was devastated. It was setting in that he won the Derby, and it was taken away from him. It was awful for him. He really didn't know what happened. He's managing things and controlling things, but I believe he's getting madder and madder with each day as more and more people are telling him the horse should not have been taken down."

Count Lombardi in the no-DQ camp, as biased as he may be on behalf of his trainer.

"I don't care how anyone looks at it, the decision was a disservice. I think it put a black eye on horse racing. The casual fans are confused. They don't understand. The best horse won, but he didn't win. They think it's rigged or fixed," Lombardi said. "There were so many angles. Did he come out? Yes. Did the '1' (War of Will) come off the rail behind him? Yes. Did the '1' come up on him? Yes. And the problem I have is with the '20' (Country House, who was moved up from first to second) claiming foul when he wasn't impacted. I don't understand that. You should only want them to look at what happened to you, like a 3-pointer in basketball. They look to see if you're over the line. They can't watch the replay and call a shooting foul."

As for the Runhappy, Firenze Fire will be facing just five rivals, but the foes include SJB Stable and Marcello Micozzi's Skyler's Scramjet, who is coming off a half-length loss in the Carter Handicap (G1), and Sagamore Farm's Recruiting Ready, winner of the Gulfstream Park Sprint Stakes (G3) March 2.

"There's only six horses, but it's a tough field," Lombardi said.

Firenze Fire, a Florida-bred son of Poseidon's Warrior , was 11th in the 2018 Kentucky Derby but notched wins a year ago in the Gallant Bob Stakes (G3) at Parx Racing and the Dwyer Stakes (G3) at Belmont Park, a race he captured by nine lengths.

Fourth in the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1) to close 2018, he began his 4-year-old campaign with a third—5 3/4 lengths behind the winner, Extravagant Kid—in the six-furlong Zaxby's Sprint Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs March 31.

"He's doing great now. It was his first race back, and the idea was to tighten him up. Jason was very happy with the way he performed and how he came out of the race. Off a four-month layoff, we weren't looking for much," Lombardi said about his winner of six of 15 starts with earnings of $1,134,100.

The Runhappy also marks a return to the sandy oval of Belmont Park, where Firenze Fire is a winner of the Dwyer and the Champagne Stakes (G1) at 2 in his only trips over the track. Irad Ortiz Jr., who rode the colt in both of those stakes, will be aboard again Saturday.

"We're 2-for-2 at Belmont with Irad, so I'm confident," Lombardi said.

Lombardi said he and Servis viewed the Runhappy as a better prep for the upcoming $1.2 million Runhappy Metropolitan Handicap (G1) at a mile June 8 at Belmont than the one-mile Westchester Stakes (G3) last Saturday.

"We had the option of running in the Westchester at a mile, and we decided, 'Let's not tax him, let him settle in the six furlongs,'" Lombardi said. "This will suit him better and keep him fresher."

Skyler's Scramjet, a gelded son of Creative Cause  trained by Michelle Nevin, is seeking his first win since a victory in the Tom Fool Handicap on March 10, 2018. He has four seconds in seven starts since then.

Recruiting Ready was fourth in the Commonwealth Stakes (G3) at Keeneland in his most recent start. The 5-year-old son of Algorithms  is trained by Stanley Hough.

Curragh Stables' Killybegs Captain, trained by John Terranova, is turning back to six furlongs after finishing second in the Challenger Stakes at 1 1/16 miles at Tampa Bay. The son of Mizzen Mast  was a 4 1/2-length winner of the six-furlong Pelican Stakes, also at Tampa Bay, prior to that.