Fire Away rallies inside to take Dixie on Preakness Day at Pimlico

Phipps Stable homebred Fire Away found plenty of room along the inside to power past the tiring leaders and earn his first career graded-stakes victory in Saturday’s $250,000 Maker’s Mark Dixie (G2) at legendary Pimlico Race Course.

Inaugurated in 1870, the 117th running of the Dixie for 3-year-olds and up at 1 1/16 miles was among seven undercard stakes, four graded, on a 14-race program that supported the 143rd renewal of the Preakness Stakes (G1).

Over seven inches of rain had fallen in the Baltimore area since Tuesday, ultimately forcing the race to be moved from the turf to a sloppy and sealed main track. It was run as a Grade 3 event due to the surface switch.

Fire Away ($4.60), a 6-year-old son of War Front, is a two-time stakes winner on the grass for Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey, who picked up his fourth career Dixie victory following Hall of Famer Lure (1993), Parading (2009) and Ironicus (2015).

Unbridled Juan got the jump on his rivals early and was in front through a quarter-mile in 24.63 seconds and a half in 48.65, with Just Howard – the Maryland-bred champion 3-year-old male, turf horse and Horse of the Year in 2017 – looming on his right hip and multiple stakes winner O Dionysus another path wider in the clear.

Jockey Manny Franco cut the corner on Fire Away rounding the far turn and they scooted up the rail to hit the wire three-quarters of a length ahead of Unbridled Juan in 1:43.92. Just Howard held third with O Dionysus checking in fourth.

“I knew the race was coming off the grass," said Franco. "But I just trusted my horse because I rode him before (on grass) and waited as long as I could, and he ran pretty good for me.”

“I mean, it’s fair," added Franco. "I saw the races before that horses were winning on the inside. The assistant trainer didn’t tell me to go outside or anything. Like I said, I just trusted my horse and he responded. This horse, when you start asking him, he gives it to you. I just tried to keep busy on him and it worked out well.”

It was the seventh win from 22 career races for Fire Away, an earner of $598,397 in purses whose only previous try on dirt came in his career debut Aug. 2, 2014 at Saratoga, where he finished ninth. He won the Artie Schiller Stakes to cap 2017 and took the Dangers Honor Stakes April 8 at Aqueduct in his previous start.

The Dixie is Pimlico’s oldest stakes race and the nation’s eighth-oldest, first run as the Dinner Party Stakes at a distance of two miles. The inaugural winner was Preakness, whose name was adopted for the Middle Jewel of the Triple Crown, which debuted in 1873.