Grecian Fire prevails in eventful California Dreamin renewal

DEL MAR, Calif. – Oh, the mythical overlords of racing have a helluva sense of humor. About seven hours after trainer Jerry Hollendorfer received a ruling allowing him to train at Del Mar, one of the horses he lost during his recent travails, Grecian Fire, won the $151,755 California Dreamin on Friday, overcoming a tough trip and a stewards inquiry before being declared the official winner.

Grecian Fire ($8.20) got absolutely stopped on the far turn of the 1 1/16-mile grass race for older California-breds, a point where by all rights he should have been eliminated. But he wasn’t. He re-engaged under jockey Mike Smith and closed with a furious rush to beat 29-1 The Street Fighter by one length, with early pacesetter What a View third.

Several runners in addition to Grecian Fire were impacted, including the popular Ashleyluvssugar, who got shuffled back to last in the 10-horse field and closed belatedly for sixth, beaten a nose out of fifth.

The stewards looked at the replays for approximately 10 minutes before, in a majority decision, letting the result stand.

Smith obviously agreed with the call. He told the stewards on the phone during the inquiry that he believed The Hunted and jockey Tiago Pereira, who wound up seventh, caused the problem by dropping over.

“I hit his heels,” Smith said while awaiting the decision. “Boom, drops in. He almost dropped me. I’m going, ‘Tiago, no, no,’ and he just keeps coming.”

Grecian Fire was winning for the sixth time in 25 starts, but this was his first for trainer Keith Desormeaux, to whom Kevin and Kim Nish – who race as KMN Racing – transferred Grecian Fire when Hollendorfer was denied stalls at Del Mar prior to the meet’s beginning.

“I can’t take any credit for it,” said Desormeaux, who only has had the horse for a couple of weeks.

Desormeaux was understandably awed by the turn of foot Grecian Fire displayed to overcome interference and get up in time.

“I’ve never seen anything like that,” Desormeaux said. “I’d like to know what his last quarter, his last eighth, was. That was incredible.”

Grecian Fire covered 1 1/16 miles on firm turf in 1:39.85. He was 7 1/2 lengths behind after six furlongs in 1:08.94, so he covered the final five-sixteenths of a mile in approximately 29.40 seconds after having to slam on the brakes.

Grecian Fire, 5, is a gelding by Unusual Heat. He was bred and is owned by the Nishes, for whom Grecian Fire earned $85,500 on Friday, bringing his bankroll to more than $380,000.