Pyro avoids loose horse during workout

by Bob Fortus, The Times-Picayune

Monday February 18, 2008, 12:07 PM

Pyro was running one way. A loose horse was running the other way.

The unexpected twist in Pyro's workout Monday morning at the Fair Grounds could have been disastrous.

Fortunately for both horses, they passed each other on the turn at about the five-sixteenths pole without colliding.

Pyro, the Louisiana Derby favorite and one of the early favorites for the Kentucky Derby, finished his workout safe and sound.

Later in the morning, trainer Steve Asmussen was able to laugh about the incident. When a jockey's agent asked Asmussen if he wanted coffee delivered to the barn, Asmussen said a walk to the track kitchen would help him calm down.

Pyro, working for the first time since winning the Risen Star on Feb. 9, ran five furlongs in 1:05 3-5. Jockey Dominic Terry, who rode Pyro, was careful to avoid a collision, and the incident clearly added a few seconds to the workout.

"I was just worried about the horse," Terry said. "Any other time, I worry about me getting hurt."

Asmussen said: "The horse handles well, and he's very intelligent and came out of it well. That's the important thing."

The loose horse never had a rider. That horse had been exercising in the company of a pony, whose rider was holding a shank attached to the horse's halter to keep the horse alongside. Somehow, the shank came loose, and the horse took off, heading clockwise around the track toward Pyro.

Asmussen also worked Z Fortune, the Risen Star runner-up, five furlongs Monday. He ran without incident, completing the distance in 1:03 2-5 and running the final quarter-mile in a solid 24 1-5 seconds.

Also on Monday, Grasshopper worked for the first time since winning the Mineshaft. Grasshopper, whom trainer Neil Howard is pointing to the New Orleans Handicap, worked a half-mile in 49 seconds.