Hollywood Park: Rosengold holds off Pure Loyalty to win Tsunami Slew

INGLEWOOD, Calif. – Rosengold extended his streak of stakes wins to three in Sunday’s $74,670 Tsunami Slew at Betfair Hollywood Park, a race that featured a more desperate finish than his previous victories.

At Santa Anita in March, Rosengold won the Baffle Stakes for turf sprinters by a length and the Pasadena Stakes over a mile by a half-length. The Tsunami Slew was his first start since the Pasadena Stakes on March 29. Rosengold ($3.60) was fully extended to hold off a late surge by 2-1 Pure Loyalty, winning by a neck in the one-mile turf race for 3-year-olds.

It was a scare that will benefit Rosengold in advance of the $100,000 Oceanside Stakes over a mile on turf for 3-year-olds at Del Mar on July 17, according to his jockey, Martin Garcia.

“Definitely, he needed the race,” Garcia said. “Next time, you won’t see that.”

Rosengold was a heavy favorite in a field of five in the Tsunami Slew. Gabriel Charles, a stakes winner on turf last November, was withdrawn Sunday morning because of a respiratory infection.

Rosengold broke from the outside in the small field and was quickly in front, leading by as many as eight lengths on the backstretch through early fractions of 23.81 and 47.20 seconds. Rosengold’s lead rapidly shrunk in the final quarter-mile. He finished in 1:35.59.

Pure Loyalty, who made his stakes debut in the Tsunami Slew, finished five lengths in front of Olympic Blue, who was followed by Show Some Magic and Dirty Swagg.

Rosengold, a colt by Stormello, races for breeder Bill Currin and trainer Julio Canani. Rosengold has won 4 of 5 starts and $166,660.

The win Sunday left Currin anxious for the Oceanside.

“He got a good blow out of that,” he said. “Now we can go to opening day at Del Mar.”