Pyro Picks It Up

For a colt that is winless in three starts against the champion of his generation and the early favorite for the 134th running of the Kentucky Derby presented by Yum! Brands, Pyro sure gets a lot of attention among the candidates now on the road to Churchill Downs and America’s greatest race.

It’s easy to see why. Despite those three setbacks to unbeaten champion War Pass over three different tracks, Pyro has appeared in each of those races to be the better candidate for success at a mile and a quarter on the first Saturday in May.

The son of Pulpit has been on the radar screen in this corner since trainer Steve Asmussen casually told me last spring following a strong maiden victory over a good field at Churchill Downs that Pyro was “our best 2-year-old.” That is saying something for an outfit that excels in cranking out talented youngsters.

His three races against unbeaten champion War Pass did nothing to discredit Asmussen’s assertion. The first was a third place run in a Saratoga allowance in which Pyro lunged at the start and lost all chance. The second was a late-running runner-up finish to War Pass in Belmont’s Champagne at odds of 32-1. The most recent was his runner-up finish in the Monmouth Park slop in the Bessemer Trust Breeders’ Cup Juvenile in which Asmussen’s colt was the only horse in the same time zone with the front-running winner.

After the Breeders’ Cup, Pyro returned to Asmussen’s Churchill Downs base and then headed to New Orleans’ Fair Grounds, where he has been working steadily in preparation for his 3-year-old debut. Most instructive in terms of the quality of Pyro, and Asmussen’s belief in the colt’s ability, is that he has most recently been the workmate for reigning “Horse of the Year” Curlin, the stable star.

The last two works by the duo, a five furlong work on Jan. 24 and a six furlong breeze on Jan. 30, are most interesting in that both were far from the norm for Asmussen. Those who have closely watched the progress of the Eclipse Award finalist know that Asmussen-trained horses rarely turn in fast works. Most, in fact, appear quite slow when compared to the rest of the day’s work tab – but Asmussen, assistant Scot Blasi and the rest of his team know exactly what they are looking for in terms of fitness and sharpness in what would otherwise be less-than-dazzling training moves.

Against that backdrop, the moves of the past week by both Curlin and Pyro stand out. Both were “bullet” moves. The horses finished noses apart in those works and the Jan. 24 move was timed in 1:00.60, the best of four over a “good” track, and the six furlong work was clocked in 1:13 flat – the fastest of three at the distance on “fast” footing.

The fractions for the latter work, reported by the Fair Grounds’ Lenny Vangilder, were :24.60 for the quarter-mile, :36.60 for three furlongs, :49 for the half and 1:00.80 for five furlongs. The duo galloped out seven furlongs in 1:26 and a mile in 1:40.40.

By Asmussen standards, both were eye-catching moves and much faster than the standard Asmussen work, no matter how talented the horse might be. Take that as an indication that both the champion and the Derby hope are gearing up quickly for some serious activity – with the $300,000 Risen Star (Grade III) on Feb. 8 being the target for Pyro’s season debut.

The strong activity and Pyro’s status as Curlin’s workmate suggests that Asmussen’s regard for Pyro has not diminished in any way since he made his casual comment in our conversation last summer.

After the hours after the Breeders’ Cup World Championships last fall, Asmussen and Blasi, his right-hand man, went out to dinner to celebrate a most satisfying day. Asmussen recalled their conversation from that night regarding the effort by Pyro – and his enormous promise – on his return from Monmouth Park to Churchill Downs on Oct. 28.

“We feel very good about what he’s done and what he’s going to be capable of doing in the future,” said Asmussen. “I went to dinner the Saturday night with Scott and said ‘What a position we’re in. I think we’ve got the best horse in the world and the most promising one.’ We’re in a pretty good spot.” Pyro is not the only Derby candidate in Asmussen’s barn. Lecomte winner Z Fortune is also candidate for the Risen Star, multiple stakes winner Kodiak Kowboy finished third in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile after starting his career early in 2007 in two-furlong races at Woodbine; and King’s Silver Son, a Mizzen Mast colt who was an impressive winner at the Fair Grounds last week in his sixth try in maiden company, may have finally figured things out and landed a spot on the Derby trail.

But Pyro is clearly the top hope in Asmussen’s stable and appears to have the pedigree, running style and temperament to give his trainer his strongest shot yet at the “Run for the Roses.”