Laurel: Broad Rule surprises in Fire Plug for second straight year

Something about Laurel Park in January seems to bring out the best in Broad Rule.

Nearly a year after upsetting the Fire Plug Stakes for older sprinters at 16-1, Broad Rule repeated the feat Saturday afternoon when he rallied between horses in deep stretch to win the six-furlong Fire Plug again, this time at 12-1 odds.

The Fire Plug was the last of four $100,000 stakes on the first weekend of Laurel’s 2014 winter meet.

Broad Rule’s chances of defending his title improved when morning-line favorite Strapping Groom, who defeated the Maryland-based Broad Rule by 11 1/2 lengths in the Dec. 21 Gravesend Handicap at Aqueduct, was scratched.

Warrioroftheroses, a 17-1 outsider cutting back from a pair of 1 1/8-mile races, took over the lead from pacesetter Fersmiley in the stretch and opened up by three lengths with a furlong remaining. Service for Ten, the 3-2 favorite on the basis of his win in the Dave’s Friend in mid-November, was mounting a challenge down the middle of the track under Sheldon Russell. But Broad Rule ($26.80) finished fastest of all to get up by three-quarters of a length over Service for Ten, completing six furlongs in 1:11.49.

“He flattened a little bit at the eighth pole and I thought, don’t quit on me now,” said Forest Boyce, Broad Rule’s regular rider. “I asked him for a little more and he gave it to me.”

A 6-year-old Maryland-bred trained by Dickie Small for Fitzhugh LLC, Broad Rule has now won 7 of 34 starts and $284,215.

In the other stakes:

Firenze Feeling ($3.80), making her first start since clearing her first allowance condition nearly one year ago, rallied to win the 1 1/16-mile Nellie Morse for fillies and mares by 4 3/4 lengths under hot apprentice rider Victor Carrasco.

Heavily favored Gracer ($3), making her first start since winning the Blue Mountain Juvenile Fillies at Penn National in November, scored by three lengths in the six-furlong Marshua for 3-year-old fillies. The Pennsylvania-bred Gracer, ridden by Alex Cintron for trainer Tony Dutrow, has now won 3 of 5 starts. She covered the distance in 1:12.18.

Germaniac ($14.80), a non-threatening fifth in his previous stakes try on a muddy track, scored a front-running 6 ½-length upset in the seven-furlong Frank Whiteley for 3-year-olds. Ridden by J.D. Acosta for Tim Tullock, Germaniac was timed in 1:25.08. Jessethemarine was a distant runner-up as the 2-5 favorite.