Fire With Fire catches Segway in Whittingham

David Heerensperger's Fire With Fire successfully reverted to off-the-pace

tactics in Saturday's Grade 2, $201,000

Charles Whittingham Handicap at Santa Anita, delivering a well-timed move to

catch Segway at the wire.

Trained by Hall of Famer Neil Drysdale -- a former assistant to the legendary

Whittingham -- and ridden by Tyler Baze, Fire With Fire had been on the engine

in his last two starts. The Distorted Humor gelding wired the 1 1/2-mile San

Luis Rey on March 22, and nearly repeated the feat when shortening up to 1 1/8

miles in the April 25 Last Tycoon, only to be nailed by Quick Casablanca in the

final strides.

The 1 1/4-mile Whittingham shaped up as a rematch from the Last Tycoon, but

it played out rather differently. With plenty of speed signed on, Fire With Fire

was content to settle early and play his hand late.

Soi Phet and Bright Thought matched strides through a quick opening quarter

in :23 2/5 on the firm turf, then Bright Thought established himself as the

leader. Segway, who initially sat in third, ranged up to engage Bright Thought

through fractions of :46 3/5 and 1:11 1/5.

When Bright Thought was spent on the far turn, Segway took command, reached

the mile mark in 1:35 3/5, and tried to build up an unassailable advantage in

the stretch. But Baze produced Fire With Fire, while his rival Quick Casablanca

also launched a rally from last, and both began to erase the deficit inside the

final furlong.

Although Segway tried to hang on, his advantage was diminishing alarmingly

with every stride. Fire With Fire had too much momentum and forced his neck in

front in a final time of 2:00 4/5, with Quick Casablanca another neck away in

third. An overlay at 7-1, Fire With Fire returned $16.60 to win.

Another 2 1/4 lengths astern in fourth came Irish Surf. Bright Thought tired

to fifth, and next came Soi Phet, Dr Action, African Oil and Joelito.

Fire With Fire improved his record to 32-7-8-5, $655,354. First sold for

$290,000 as a Keeneland September yearling, the gray began his career with Hall

of Fame trainer Bill Mott, for whom he finished third in the 2011 Kent in his

stakes debut. Later that fall, he brought $140,000 at Keeneland November, and

moved to another Hall of Famer in Drysdale. Fire With Fire was third in the 2012

Del Mar 'Cap, and filled that same spot in the 2013 edition of the San Luis Rey,

won by Bright Thought in then world-record time of 2:22.72.

Last August, Fire With Fire broke through with his first stakes score in the

Joseph T. Grace, accomplished in a course-record 1:40 3/5 for 1 1/16 miles at

Santa Rosa. He was awarded the victory via disqualification in the Bull Dog

Handicap at Fresno, and also placed in the Ralph M. Hinds Handicap and Berkeley

Handicap. Fifth in the January 4 San Gabriel, he launched a raid on Turf

Paradise to plunder the January 18 Cotton Fitzsimmons Mile, before returning to

Santa Anita for his profitable spring campaign.

Bred by Patricia Pavlish in Kentucky, Fire With Fire is the third stakes

performer produced by the Grade 2-placed Cosmic Fire, by Capote. She is

responsible for Cosmonaut, two-time winner of the Arlington Handicap who also

captured the Golden Gate Fields Handicap and Fort Marcy and placed in such

events as the Shadwell Turf Mile and Breeders' Cup Mile. He is now a promising

young sire. Cosmic Fire's other notable offspring are the stakes-placed Kickin'

the Clouds (dam of Grade 2-placed Cloudy Vow) and Cosmic Wish (dam of Japanese

Grade 3 victor Ijigen).

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