Goddess of Fire hopes to rebound second off the bench

Goddess of Fire burned some money flaming out Nov. 26 at Aqueduct in her return from a 14-month layoff, but with a bounce back to anything approaching her better form, the mare will lord over the featured sixth race Thursday at Gulfstream Park.

The concern: That better form has grown very stale. Goddess of Fire’s last performance that reflected her innate ability came in August 2022, when she was third in the Grade 1 Alabama. Five weeks later, she ran poorly in the Grade 1 Cotillion Stakes and did not start again until the Aqueduct outing.

“She had quite a bit of time off at the farm in Ocala,” said Todd Pletcher, who trains Goddess of Fire for her breeder, Red Oak Stable.

Goddess of Fire showed up to the work tab in late August but didn’t post an official breeze between Sept. 5 and Oct. 9, and though she had gotten onto a regular work pattern leading into her comeback race, Goddess of Fire ran poorly.

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Poorly, yes, but not quite as poor as the bare statistics of the defeat – fifth, beaten 17 1/4 lengths as the 5-2 favorite. Contesting the lead while pulling too hard and racing three wide without cover down the backstretch of a fast-paced one-turn mile, Goddess of Fire still was at least in mild contention to the quarter pole before tiring and being ridden kindly to the finish by Jose Lezcano.

“She was a little rusty on the comeback,” said Pletcher, who brought Goddess of Fire to his Palm Beach Downs string following the Nov. 26 start. “I think she’s been training well since then. I expect an improved performance.”

It’s surprising that Goddess of Fire even remains eligible for this first-level allowance, also open to $25,000 claimers and carded for one mile on dirt. The mare won her debut, then finished second and third in six stakes races during the earlier portion of her career. She has three Beyer Speed Figures of 90 and above, while none of her six Thursday opponents has earned a figure even as high as 80.

Devil Blue Dress has nothing like Goddess of Fire’s résumé, but she does share a poor last start on Nov. 26. Devil Blue Dress had trouble when well beaten in her debut last October at Keeneland and came back to win nicely in a one-turn Churchill maiden mile. Facing other winners in late November, she traveled solidly into contention while racing in the clear in another one-turn mile but began losing position at the five-furlong marker and faded to a distant last with no apparent excuse. Her one good performance from the three starts does suggest Devil Blue Dress, a likely pace factor, could rebound into contention.

Steel Racer’s most recent race was the best among this bunch, and she stands a decent chance of winning Thursday if she can repeat it while rising in class from Florida-bred to open competition. Steel Racer in late November moved from Kentucky to join the stable of trainer Martin Drexler, and after pressing the pace in a one-turn mile Dec. 22 at Gulfstream, Steel Racer drew clear after changing leads somewhat later than ideal.

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