Sometimes a change of scenery is all that’s required to get a horse straightened out.
Liz Kowalski was running a small string of horses this past winter at Turf Paradise when she noticed a young gelding by the name of Om Fire in the neighboring barn of Bart Hone.
“Bart Hone is a very good trainer,” said Kowalski, whose spring and summer base is Emerald Downs. “I watched this horse as he was training, and he wasn’t quite fitting in. I thought he’d be a good fit for our barn.”
Kowalski was able to purchase the 4-year-old for $3,000 from the estate of his owner after he passed away. The horse is now partially owned by Kowalski’s boyfriend, Dennis Snowden, who helps her run her barn at Emerald, which is where Om Fire made his local debut for a $5,000 tag on May 31.
In that race, carded at six furlongs, Om Fire stalked Party With Paddy from second position before blowing by him in the stretch to win by 4 1/2 lengths. Om Fire covered the distance in 1:09.17 and earned a career-best 67 Beyer Speed Figure.
“He’s young, he’s lightly raced, he settled into our barn really fast,” Kowalski said of Om Fire, who has a record of 12-3-0. We thought we’d start him at $5,000 and he’s continued to blossom. We’ll just keep learning more about him as he keeps showing us more of himself.”
Om Fire will have to run back to his last race, if not improve upon it, if he wants to top the seven-horse field in Saturday’s sixth race. He’ll be stepping up to the $10,000 claiming level in the six-furlong sprint, which should have some fast early fractions.
Company’s Dream, Handr’sdream, and Roll Dem Bones are among the contestants who will seek to show the way, while Awesome Again should be rolling late. Long Lance is dropping in class to a point where he could be dangerous.
“We know there’s a lot of speed in that race already,” said Kowalski, who has saddled two winners in three starts at the Emerald meet. “With the way he [Om Fire] is training and responding to us, I think he’ll run a smart race.
“I think with as much speed as there is in there, I think he’s better off stalking. He’s proven in the past that he can stalk and win.”
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