Klimt, Straight Fire to rematch in FrontRunner Stakes

DEL MAR, Calif. – Klimt and Straight Fire, the one-two finishers, both came out of the Grade 1 Del Mar Futurity on Monday well and are being pointed to the Grade 1, $300,000 FrontRunner on Oct. 1 at Santa Anita, their connections said Tuesday.

Klimt, a son of Quality Road, followed up his victory in last month’s Best Pal with an even more impressive score Monday. His trainer, Bob Baffert, believes he will do even better with more distance.

“He’s got a really good mind,” Baffert said Tuesday morning at Del Mar. “You can put him where you want. He’s getting bigger and stronger. He came back good.”

Straight Fire, the favorite, weakened to be second after setting a wicked pace. There is very little run-up going seven furlongs at Del Mar. Straight Fire ran the first quarter of the race in 22.33 seconds and the second quarter in 22.05, for a blistering 44.38 half-mile.

The cumulative effect of his three starts at the meet plus the hot pace were cited by Alex Solis Jr., the racing manager for the colt, as reasons for his defeat.

“I think maybe asking him to run three times in seven weeks, plus going 22 and 2 for the opening quarter and 22 flat for the second quarter, was just asking a lot of a 2-year-old at Del Mar,” Solis said Tuesday. “The second quarter cooked him.”

The FrontRunner, at 1 1/16 miles, will be the two-turn debut for both Klimt and Straight Fire. It is a Win and You’re In race toward the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile on Nov. 5 at Santa Anita.