Firenze Fire outgames stablemate to win Gravesend Stakes

The hard-knocking millionaire Firenze Fire continued to enhance his résumé with his third stakes victory of the season – and had to work hard to do it, outbattling rising star stablemate Happy Farm for a head victory in the $100,000 Gravesend Stakes on Sunday evening at Aqueduct.

Firenze Fire ($2.70), who races as a homebred for Mr Amore Stables, is trained by Jason Servis, who claimed Happy Farm for M and A Stables earlier this season. Firenze Fire, a four-time graded stakes winner through his 2- and 3-year-old seasons, won the Runhappy Stakes in May at Belmont and the Fabulous Strike Stakes last month at Penn National. In between, he tangled with some of the sprint division's brightest stars. He finished second in the Grade 1 Forego Stakes at Saratoga as Mitole established a track record; was beaten a nose by Imperial Hint in the Grade 1 Vosburgh Stakes at Belmont; and was fifth in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Santa Anita, won by Mitole.

Meanwhile, Happy Farm put together four consecutive victories in the summer and fall for his new connections. The 5-year-old gelding came into the Gravesend off a win in the Grade 3 Fall Highweight Handicap, his graded stakes debut, on Dec. 8 at Aqueduct.

Firenze Fire, with Jose Lezcano aboard in the Gravesend, sat in second as Happy Farm and Reylu Gutierrez took the field through relatively unpressured early splits, getting a quarter in 23.16 seconds and the half in 45.86 seconds. At that point, the gelding led by two lengths at the quarter pole. Firenze Fire was set down for the drive and gradually wore down his determined stablemate through the lane, getting up by a head at the wire. The final time for the six furlongs was 1:09.72.

"The track is playing for speed and [Happy Farm] was fast enough to keep going," Lezcano said. "My horse is very classy. He followed the leader the whole way. When I asked him, he went on and did the job. I didn't ask him for too much. I just asked him for enough to win the race."

After the top two, it was 1 1/2 lengths back to T Loves a Fight in third, with that popular gelding picking up his third consecutive stakes placing.