Second, beaten a nose by Imperial Hint in the 2019 renewal, Mr. Amore Stable's Firenze Fire came from off the pace under jockey Jose Lezcano to win the Grade 2 Vosburgh Stakes by 2 3/4 lengths on Saturday at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y. In so doing, the 5-year-old Florida-bred by Poseidon's Voyage, trained by Kelly Breen, earned an automatic, fees-paid berth in the Breeders' Cup Sprint as part of the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series.
The 2020 Breeders' Cup Sprint will be run at Keeneland Nov. 7 as part of the two-day world championships program.
Racing over his favorite surface, where he won the G1 Champagne at 2, the G3 Dwyer at 3 and the G2 True North Stakes earlier this year, Firenze Fire covered six furlongs on a fast track in 1:09.74. He paid $7.20 to win the Vosburgh, his 12th victory in 29 lifetime starts.
Funny Guy finished second, with pacesetter Share the Ride third, True Timber fourth and Engage last in the field of five after the scratch of Stan the Man.
Firenze Fire was transferred to Breen earlier this year after his former trainer, Jason Servis, was indicted on drug misbranding charges that are part of a federal probe in racehorse doping.
After a fourth-place finish in the G1 Carter Handicap in his first start for Breen, Firenze Fire won the True North and then finished fourth behind Volatile in the G1 Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap at Saratoga. He came off an 11th-place finish in the slop at Saratoga in the G1 Forego won by Win Win Win.
Share the Ride set the pace in the Vosburgh, going :22.33 for the opening quarter mile and :45.53 for the half. Firenze Fire tracked the leader in second, taking command in the stretch after a five-furlong fraction of :57.36.
“Today, it was a small field, so I wanted to break good and he was in the bridle the whole way,” said Lezcano. “When I asked him at the quarter pole, he took off.”
“I can say he doesn't like the mud [following a last-place effort in G1 Forego],” said Breen. “You can put a line through his last race and he really performed today. He loves Belmont. We'll have to get him as used to Keeneland as he is to Belmont. I'll bring a couple of buckets from here and put it down the Keeneland stretch and bring our track to Keeneland. He's doing great. He looked great today and we're on to the Breeders' Cup [Sprint].”
Ron Lombardi of Mr. Amore Stable said: “I think he's right there [with the best sprinters in the country]. There's no question about it. Kelly has done a fantastic job with him. It's our second win after everything [trainer change] and he's a solid horse. He always delivers and he recovers well. We'll decide after the Breeders' Cup what we're going to do, there's a lot of options but I love racing. If he does well there, it will be a tough decision [to send him to stud].”
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