by Jeff Lowe

Pyro’s education continued in an ideal manner in the Louisiana Derby (G2) on Saturday, and he will soon move on to Keeneland Race Course for the final stage of his preparation for the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1).

The Pulpit colt displayed a new dimension in the Louisiana Derby when he tracked a fast early pace and zipped through traffic with a decisive burst in the stretch. One month earlier, Pyro waited until the top of the stretch before he circled the field with a dramatic last-to-first rally in the Risen Star Stakes (G3).

Trainer Steve Asmussen has emphasized creating a more consistent rhythm in Pyro’s running style. The two breezes Pyro completed in company with 2007 Horse of the Year Curlin this winter were designed to help the younger colt make the adjustment. 

Judging by the Louisiana Derby, Pyro has learned from the lessons. He rated 1 1/4 lengths off the lead after a half-mile in the Louisiana Derby. He had never been closer than 6 1/2 lengths from the lead through four furlongs in any of his previous five starts.

“I think Pyro deserves the credit for what he’s doing—him and him alone,” Asmussen said on Monday. “We’re just fortunate to be where we’re at.”

Asmussen said Pyro will have one more workout at Fair Grounds on March 17. He will ship Pyro to Keeneland the following night.

Pyro has never raced on a synthetic surface, but he did train on Keeneland’s all-weather Polytrack surface leading up to his second-place finish in the Bessemer Trust Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1). 

“I won’t have to worry about the weather or any of the other variables that the synthetic [surface] will take away,” Asmussen said. “I was pleased with how he trained over the racetrack [last fall].”

Zanjero finished a close third in last year’s blanket finish in the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (G1) at Keeneland for Asmussen and Pyro’s owner-breeder, Winchell Thoroughbreds.

My Pal Charlie held strong after setting the pace in the Louisiana Derby and finished second at odds of 60.90-to-1.

“When he started to open up in midstretch my heart starting pumping, and my blood pressure went way up,” trainer Al Stall Jr. said on Sunday. “I thought they might have to get the paddles out to keep me going.”

Stall did not outline immediate plans for My Pal Charlie, who is not nominated to the Triple Crown.

Third-place finisher Yankee Bravo most likely will target the Santa Anita Derby (G1) on April 5, said trainer Paddy Gallagher.

Visionaire probably will head to the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (G1) on April 12 after rumbling through fog and sloppy conditions on Saturday to score his first stakes win in the Gotham Stakes (G3) at Aqueduct.

The Grand Slam colt rallied from the back of the pack to nip Texas Wildcatter at the wire by a nose. Visionaire finished third to Pyro in the Risen Star.

Barry Irwin, principal for Visionaire’s majority owner, Team Valor International, also cited Keeneland’s track surface in explaining his preference for running Visionaire in the Blue Grass Stakes.

“I want him to have a nice race and come out of it in the best shape for the Derby, and I don’t care what we do in the Blue Grass as long as he gets a nice race in,” Irwin said. “He’ll need the five weeks between races, because this was a hard race.”

Visionaire basically did a role reversal with Pyro from their positions in the Risen Star. Visionaire sat in a stalking position along the rail in the Risen Star, and he literally closed from out of the fog in the Gotham.

“It shows he wants to make one run,” Irwin said. “He’s not really bred to run that far, but his style suggests that he might get the ten furlongs [in the Derby].”

Texas Wildcatter most likely will return in the Wood Memorial Stakes (G1) on April 5 at Aqueduct.

Trainer Genaro Vallejo mentioned the Arkansas Derby (G2) on April 12 as a possible target for Autism Awareness, who scored in the El Camino Real Derby (G3) at Bay Meadows Race Course as the longest price in the field (62-to-1).

Vallejo said owner Johnny Taboada likely would put up the $6,000 late nomination fee to make Austism Awareness eligible for the Triple Crown races.

Jeff Lowe is a Thoroughbred Times staff writer