Seeking to get back on track, Fire by Night drops from stakes to allowance company

Fire by Night is better than his last race indicates, a last-place finish of nine at 41-1 in the Governor’s Cup Derby at Los Alamitos on July 26.

Fire by Night lost all chance when he broke slowly in the $185,000 race, eventually finishing 4 1/2 lengths behind Nomadic. The gelding has qualified for three major futurities or derbys in his 16-race career, but is winless in his last three starts.

After the recent setback, Fire by Night seems better suited to Saturday’s eighth race at Los Alamitos – an allowance race at 300 yards for nonwinners of two.

Trained by Matt Fales for owner and breeder Mimi Wells, Fire by Night has one win – a maiden race at 330 yards in March. Earlier this year, he was third in the El Primero Del Ano Derby at 400 yards, a race in which Fales-trained runners swept the top three positions.

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Fire by Night will have a different rider on Saturday, with Juan Leon replacing Erasmo Gasca. Leon rode Fire by Night in the El Primero Del Ano Derby.

The allowance race drew a field of six. Peek It Up, who drew the outside post, is likely to be favored on the strength of a nose loss in an allowance race at 300 yards on July 3. Peek It Up held a narrow lead, but was caught in the final strides by Royaltys Molly.

Vinnie Bednar rides Peek It Up for trainer James Glenn Jr., and owner and breeder Ed Allred, who owns Los Alamitos.

In the July 3 race, Peek It Up finished a neck in front of El Soverign, who was third. Trained by Jose Flores, El Soverign returned to finish second in an allowance race at 300 yards on July 24, beaten a half-length by Fed X Cartel.

While Peek It Up and El Soverign have yet to run in a stakes, they do have recent form that will force Fire by Night to give a top effort on Saturday.