Nearing Five, Black Fire Alpha Sheds Maiden Tag

KEW trainer Jeannette Roche reckons Black Fire Alpha “thinks he's real smart” now.

Black Fire Alpha (Rippin Sam-Salina Fire) won his maiden at The Gardens last Friday in 16.02 leading throughout over 272m at the juicy odds of $11.

The achievement of that win is that Black Fire Alpha will turn five years old on January 2 and it was only his seventh career start.

He did not start racing until April 26 this year.

“He, his brother and sister just would not chase,” Roche said.

“So, what did we do after they got broken in, we tossed them into a paddock here at home and forgot about them for a couple of years.

“The bitch still will not chase, but the other brother has started to go now and I will get him named soon and put him into a race.”

Black Fire Alpha made an inauspicious race debut when sixth at Taree over 314m.

“He broke a toe and I had to get it taken off,” Roche said.

“When he came back to racing in August, he went terrible at Taree but then turned it all around.

“He has now won his last start and been placed three times in his past four starts.

“He just clicked when we put him back into work after those couple of years in the paddock.”

Also in the litter is the very classy Blue Fire Ice, the winner of 16 races and $35,000 and a top grade sprinter around The Gardens over the short course.

“We could not believe these few in the litter would not go,” Roche said. “Their mother Selina Fire was a crazy chaser.”

Roche now has another problem on her hands – Where does she go with Black Fire Alpha?

“He hasn't been overworked, has he,” she said.

Black Fire Alpha certainly did put it all together at The Gardens last Friday.

He had been beaten four lengths there at his previous start on November 25 when third in a personal time of 16.84 behind Mullaway Bud.

But, he dashed to the front in his maiden win and reeled off a 16.02 winning time.

The wait for Roche and her family was worth it.