The Fields Stable’s Hold Your Fire shadowed the pace of pacesetter The Rall, took command on the final turn of the Winterthur course, and drew away to a 7 3/4-length victory in the $17,500 Winterthur Bowl on Sunday. River Bend Stables’ Dance Faster moved with Hold Your Fire and finished second, and The Rall held on for third, ahead of fourth finisher South Monarch.
Trained by Tom Voss, Hold Your Fire provided the first U.S. victory for jockey Kieren Norris. Hold Your Fire ran the Winterthur Bowl’s 3 1/4 miles in 6:34 on firm ground.
Rosbrian Farm’s The Rall was on the lead for most of the timber race under Mark Beecher but began to tire as the field moved through the final turn. Norris had held Hold Your Fire in second position and made his move as the field approached the stretch of the Delaware race course. Dance Faster, ridden by Darren Nagle, had tracked Hold Your Fire and moved past The Rall to take the place spot.
Bred by the trainer’s wife, Mimi Voss, the eight-year-old Waquoit gelding is a half brother to two champions, 2005 and 2008 filly and mare champion Guelph and 2011 three-year-old champion Wanganui, both of whom raced in the silks of The Fields Stable of Betty and Laddie Merck. He was making his first start since October 2010, when he had won a maiden timber race at the Virginia Fall Races in Middleburg.