Firenze Fire breezes half-mile in BC Juvenile prep

ELMONT, N.Y. - Nearing the end of a half-mile breeze aboard Firenze Fire on Saturday morning, jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. wanted to see how much horse he had underneath him. So, inside the sixteenth-pole, Ortiz squeezed his horse ever so slightly.

The response was what Ortiz was hoping for, and he quickly grabbed hold of the colt as he proceeded to gallop-out past the wire.

Ultimately, Ortiz was quite pleased with Firenze Fire, who went a half-mile in 50.61 seconds over the Belmont Park training track in preparation for the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Del Mar on Nov. 4. He went his first quarter in 25.59 seconds, his final quarter in 25.04. He galloped-out six furlongs in 1:03.84 and six furlongs in 1:17.15.

“He was going slow and relaxed. I just wanted to check if I have something and when I asked him a little bit he turned on right away,” Ortiz said. “Then I slowed him down because he [trainer Jason Servis] didn’t want to go too fast.”

That was the first of what will likely be two workouts for Firenze Fire before he ships to Southern California on Oct. 31.

Firenze Fire, owned by Mr. Amore Stable, is 3 for 4 with wins in the Grade 3 Sanford and Champagne. His only loss came in the Grade 1 Hopeful, where he finished fourth.

‘Biscuits’ workmanlike in BC Sprint breeze

Mind Your Biscuits, preparing for the $1.5 million Breeders’ Cup Sprint, worked a half-mile in 47.91 seconds Saturday morning over Belmont Park’s main track, but trainer Chad Summers was hoping to see a little more energy from his New York-bred gelding.

Under jockey Joel Rosario, Mind Your Biscuits began the breeze about two lengths behind a horse trained by Colin Maragh. Mind Your Biscuits caught the workmate by the quarter pole, ran several paths outside of him to midstretch, then pulled away late. He got his final quarter in 23.93 and galloped-out five furlongs in 1:00.26 and six furlongs in 1:13.14

"I thought he'd have a little bit more finish than he did," Summers said. "But when he passed the other horse, he didn't explode like I thought he would. It was kind of workmanlike from there, although I thought the gallop-out was excellent. Normally this wouldn't concern me, but since he ran so poorly last time without any apparent excuse, you find yourself dissecting every little thing."

Mind Your Biscuits finished sixth in the Grade 1 Forego at Saratoga on Aug. 26.

Mind Your Biscuits will ship to Del Mar on Tuesday and likely have one final three-furlong blowout for the race on Oct. 31.

** Disco Partner, winner of the Belmont Turf Sprint Invitational, worked a slow three furlongs in 40.09 seconds and galloped-out a half-mile in 53.10.

Trainer Christophe Clement said the work was “slow by design” and will come back with something more significant next weekend.

Disco Partner’s owners, Frank and Patricia Generazio, are going to pay the $100,000 fee to make Disco Partner eligible for the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint.

_ additional reporting by Mike Welsch