• Pyro rewards faith, patience of Godolphin
• Macho Again no slouch as Woodward runner-up

Amid the justified fanfare for Rachel Alexandra after her historic victory over older males Saturday in the Grade 1 Woodward, a comeback kid named Pyro got somewhat overlooked.

Once a rising star himself after dazzling victories in the Grade 3 Risen Star and Grade 2 Louisiana Derby last year, Pyro was swept aside by the Triple Crown run of Big Brown and his own disappointing off-the-board finishes in the Blue Grass Stakes and Kentucky Derby.

Pyro did come back to win a Grade 3 at Churchill Downs and place second in the Jim Dandy and third in the Travers, but after finishing sixth in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile last October, he underwent surgery for a bone chip and disappeared for nine months.

So, when Pyro stormed between horses five wide in the stretch to win the Grade 1, $300,000 Forego, his handlers in Godolphin Stable were elated. Pyro had finally proven himself a top-quality race horse and at the same time enhanced his standing immeasurably as a stallion prospect.

“The Kentucky boys felt the same way,” said Rick Mettee, assistant to Pyro’s trainer, Saeed bin Suroor. “The Darley guys who bought him and wanted to stand him as a stallion — that was a big win.

Mettee called the reclamation of Pyro a long process. After Dr. Larry Bramlage performed the knee surgery, Pyro was put away for a long rest and then sent to the Kentucky farm of John Burke for light training.

In late May, the decision was made to send the 4-year-old son of Pulpit to Godolphin to see if he could make a comeback, partly because the fall of the economy had depressed the value of new stallions, Mettee said.

“(Darley) just felt that with the economy last year, they had nothing to lose by keeping him in training and trying to win a Grade 1,” Mettee said. “But when you start doing that fast speed work, that’s when you find out if they even want to run.”

One morning, Hall of Fame jockey Angel Cordero Jr. was visiting Godolphin, as agent for John Velazquez, looking for a mount. He wound up being asked to breeze Pryo.

“He got off (after the workout) and said, ‘I promise this horse has run in him; he has try in him,’” Mettee recalled.

Pyro came back at Saratoga July 29 and finished second, beaten a half-length in the $73,000 James Marvin. All along, the Forego had been the Godolphin target for the horse, and the minor stakes race allowed Velazquez, who picked up the mount, to learn about the horse.

“We were convinced off the James Marvin he would run a whole lot better,” Mettee said. “He’d still need an absolute perfect trip.”

In the Forego, Pyro got that trip. He broke slowly and ran along in 11th place for a half-mile before moving to the outside on the turn and outrunning the vaunted Kodiak Kowboy to the line.

The win crowned a tremendous Saratoga meet for Godolphin runners. The stable won four Grade 1 races – Pyro in the Forego, Music Note in the Ballerina, Seventh Street in the Go for Wand, and Flashing in the Test; Vineyard Haven crossed the finish line first in the Grade 1 NetJets King’s Bishop but was disqualified for interference.

“There’s a lot of gratification,” Mettee said of Pyro’s achievement. “This started back in November when Dr. Bramlage did the surgery. I saw Darley’s manager after the race and said, ‘This is Darley at its best.’”

Trainer Dallas Stewart is still amazed with the performance of West Point Thoroughbreds’ Macho Again, who came up a head short to Rachel Alexandra in the Grade 1, $750,000 Woodward Saturday at Saratoga Race Course.

Macho Again, winner of last year’s Grade 2 Jim Dandy here at Saratoga, spotted Rachel Alexandra as many as 15 lengths in the early stages of the Woodward.

Robby Albarado then helped Macho Again make up that ground around the far turn before guiding him between Bullsbay and Past the Point at the top of the stretch.

Within the last 30 yards, Macho Again inched closer to Rachel Alexandra, closing the gap from a length to a head.

“She might be the best racehorse in the world, but we were just a head away from her,” said Stewart. “I think it took everything she had to keep him out. In another jump or two, it could have been different, but it didn’t turn out like that.

“I was screaming, jumping, and hollering all the way,” he added. “I knew we were second, but I didn’t think we were that close. When I saw the replay, I was amazed. He made a big surge at her.”

The 4-year-old gray colt will continue to make his case for year-end honors in the older horse division in the Grade 1, $750,000 Jockey Club Gold Cup for 3-year-olds and up running 1¼ miles Saturday, October 3 at Belmont Park.

“I am really happy with the way he came out of the race,” Stewart said. “We’re going to take him back to Churchill. He had been training so well there. We’ll evaluate him and see if he’s ready for the Jockey Club Gold Cup. That would be a race we would like to win with him.”

Along with his second-place finish in the Woodward, Macho Again was also second to Bullsbay in the Grade 1 Whitney here at Saratoga last month. His two victories this year came in the Grade 2 New Orleans Handicap at the Fair Grounds and the Grade 1 Stephen Foster Handicap at Churchill Downs.

“I think this shows he’s the best [in the division],” Stewart said. “He won the Stephen Foster. He came up here and finished second in two Grade 1 races. This race shows he’s a champion himself. He’s got the courage and determination. He just ran into a Super Woman.”