If it rains, Firenze Fire's shot to win Forego all but extinguished

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – The path of Hurricane Laura as it turns toward the East Coast over the weekend could be the deciding factor as to whether Firenze Fire is in the starting gate here for Saturday’s Grade 1 Forego.

Trainer Kelly Breen said Wednesday he’ll be tracking the storm closely as he and owner Ron Lombardi are reluctant to run Firenze Fire on anything other than a fast track. Firenze Fire finished a distant fourth over a sloppy track in the Grade 1 Carter Handicap earlier this season. The local forecast called for an 80 percent chance of rain Saturday when entries were drawn for the Forego on Wednesday.

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“What’s going on with the weather is key for me now,” Breen said. “Last time we ran on a wet, dull, tiring track, and he ran last in a four-horse field, although he didn’t get tired, they just ran a slow first quarter and an extremely fast final quarter.”

Breen was referring to Firenze Fire’s fourth-place finish when beaten two lengths by the pacesetting favorite Volatile in the 6 1/2-furlong Alfred Vanderbilt on July 25.

“He’s doing well, training good, I just wish we had the ideal situation of a nice, fast track on Saturday, and at the moment it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen,” Breen lamented. “But we’ll enter and see.”

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Breen also had to find a new rider for Firenze Fire. Irad Ortiz Jr., who rode him both in the Grade 1 Vanderbilt and to a 1 1/2-length victory in the Grade 2 True North four weeks earlier, opted to take the call on Fortin Hill for trainer Chad Brown instead. Junior Alvarado will replace Ortiz aboard Firenze Fire if Mother Nature cooperates.

Along with Firenze Fire and Fortin Hill, others entered for what figures to be a very competitive Forego include Complexity, Everfast, Funny Guy, Lexitonian, Majestic Dunhill, Mind Control, True Timber, Whitmore, and Win Win Win.