Owners George and Lori Hall
and trainer Kelly Breen have had an exciting June so far, winning the Belmont
Stakes with Ruler on Ice. Now they’ll look to keep the party going here
Saturday when Pants on Fire meets five rivals in the $200,000 Pegasus Stakes
(G3), a major prep for Monmouth’s centerpiece, the $1 million Haskell
Invitational on July 31.
When the Triple Crown trail
started this spring, Pants on Fire was behind some other 3-year-olds in the
Breen barn, but moved to the front of the Kentucky Derby line in March when he
won the Grade 2 Louisiana Derby.
In the Run for the Roses, the
Jump Start colt was one of the favorites with Rosie Napravnik aboard, but ran a
poor ninth behind Animal Kingdom. After the race, it was discovered he had bled
through medication, and his future was uncertain.
Breen at first thought about
using the Long Branch Stakes (July 9) as a prep for the Haskell, but Pants on
Fire had other ideas.
“He came around a lot quicker
than we thought he would,” the trainer said. “After that fast workout (a bullet
:47 flat on May 27), we had to do something soon with him. I never thought he
would go that fast. He was feeling too good.”
To make sure the bleeding
issue had been overcome, Breen worked Pants on Fire here last Friday (June 10)
between races. Revved up to racing speed because it was the afternoon, Pants on
Fire drilled a half-mile in :45 1/5.
“We really wanted to test his
lungs, and he scoped clean after that work,” Breen said. “All his physical
signs are great going into this race.”
Napravnik will be aboard again
when Pants on Fire breaks from Post 6 in the mile and a sixteenth Pegasus.
“There’s a lot of speed in
there,” Breen said, pointing to rivals Turbo Compressor, Rush Now and Harlan’s
Hello. “We’ll be battling on the front end from the start.”