Kiss Thru Fire gives Hererra richest win in Charger Bar Handicap
Kiss Thru Fire overcame a slight stumble at the start to win Sunday’s $100,000 Charger Bar Handicap for fillies and mares at Los Alamitos, giving jockey Diego Herrera his richest win. Kiss Thru Fire also won the Charger Bar last year.
Herrera, who began riding in early 2021, is a Thoroughbred apprentice who had a winner earlier in the day at Santa Anita. Herrera gained the mount on Kiss Thru Fire on Sunday evening after jockey Raul Valenzuela was unable to make the weight assignment.
For months, Herrera, 17, has ridden the daytime Thoroughbred races in Southern California and at Los Alamitos on weekend evenings. Through Sunday, Herrera has won 85 races, 40 of which were in Thoroughbred races.
Herrera rode Kiss Thru Fire for the first time in the Charger Bar, run at 400 yards. Breaking from post 4, Kiss Thru Fire was in front by a neck after 100 yards and extended her advantage to a half-length at the wire, finishing in 19.88 seconds. Kiss Thru Fire was favored and paid $5.20.
Lynnder 16 (7-1) finished second, a head in front of 11-1 Roving Kind in the field of 10.
Kiss Thru Fire, 5, became the third horse to win the Charger Bar in consecutive years. Owned by Kirk Gentry and trained by Juan Aleman, Kiss Thru Fire has won 10 of 26 starts and earned $570,400.
Stylish Jess BR (2010-2011) and Quirky (2015-2016) are the other horses to win consecutive runnings of the Charger Bar.