Watch the horse in the red and green cap!
The hunger of a horse to win can usually rarely be questioned, but there was certainly reason to do so at Saratoga on Saturday as Firenze Fire spent much of the home straight trying to bite the winner Yaupon in a dramatic running of the Gr1 Forego Stakes.
The Steve Asmussen-trained Yaupon bounced out of the gate to lead in the seven-furlong Grade 1 as he attempted to make all under Ricardo Santana, but was soon challenged turning into the home straight by Firenze Fire, ridden by Jose Ortiz.
A thrilling battle to the line turned into even greater drama as Firenze Fire attempted to savage Yaupon on multiple occasions – snatching a portion of his bridle in his mouth in the process – so handing the advantage to the 2-1 favourite, who went on to score by a head.
Had Firenze Fire focused on the race rather than his rival, he may well have won, while for Yaupon, who was on the rail, it was a good job his tongue was lolling out to the left rather than the right, otherwise his opponent would have had something else to munch.
“That was kind of scary,” said Santana, quoted by Bloodhorse. “That’s never happened to me before and the only thing I could think was, ‘Don’t stop riding’.”
The winning trainer added: “The finish made it that much more dramatic. I will watch that replay many times in the future. For that to happen in a Grade 1 at Saratoga with two horses on the lead, that will be memorable.”
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