Pino will find out if his stock can compete at Aqueduct

Michael Pino is one of the few new faces on the backstretch this winter, and he is hoping to make enough of an impact during the Aqueduct inner-track meet to warrant keeping a string in New York on a year-round basis.

“I’ve said it for years: I want to try it and the winter seemed like a good time to do it,” Pino said Friday at Belmont Park, where he is stabled in Barn 6.

Pino was given 15 stalls. As of Friday he had five horses at Belmont and has several he claimed at Parx Racing that are not eligible to leave the grounds there until that meet closes on Dec. 22. Pino also hopes to do some claiming in New York. He already took one horse, Bonita Luna, from Bruce Brown.

“I got some horses from Parx that may do well here,” he said. “Hopefully I can find the right spots for them and hopefully claim a couple of decent horses and be able to stay here.”

In Sunday’s ninth race, a $12,500 claimer, Pino has 3-1 morning-line favorite Fire Alarm entered. He claimed that horse for $20,000 in July and won a $20,000 claimer with a $65,000 purse on Sept. 19, thus earning $39,000. Fire Alarm ran second for that same price tag on Oct. 6 before running fourth in a starter allowance at Laurel Park.

“He was wide both turns,” Pino said. “I don’t think he ran his race but it warrants me to start getting realistic with him.”