My Pardner Cal stands out among nine maidens in Loyal Stakes

Nine Ohio-bred 2-year-olds – all of them maidens and five making their career debuts – get an opportunity to run for a $75,000 purse and become a stakes winner in Saturday’s six-furlong Loyalty at Belterra Park.

Among those with at least one start, the fastest by far is My Pardner Cal. Sent off as the 6-5 favorite in his career debut, My Pardner Cal opened up an early six-length lead but faded late to finish third. His 42 Beyer Speed Figure is 15 points higher than any of his rivals have recorded.

Tico Thunder failed to deliver at odds of even-money and 1-2 in his first two career starts at ThistleDown. He adds Lasix, but trainer Tim Hamm is just 3 for 28 over the past five years with 2-year-olds back within 30 days and making their first start on Lasix.

Tico Thunder is coupled with Leona’s Reward, a filly whose best finish in four starts was a third in a slowly run maiden race at Belterra.

Among the first-time starters, the most promising might be Bold Johnny. His Kentucky-based trainer, Tom Drury, is 4 for 21 (19 percent) over the past five years with 2-year-old first-time starters. Bold Johnny worked a half-mile bullet from the gate in 48 seconds on the synthetic surface at the Skylight Training Center in Louisville.

Bold Johnny is coupled with another first-timer, El Producto, whose two most recent published workouts were slow half-miles at Indiana Grand.

Another first-timer, Big Buckeye, is a son of Mercer Mill, whose 2-year-olds win at a 19 percent clip. His trainer, Mark Thomas, is 5 for 18 at the Belterra meet but 0 for 9 over the past five years with 2-year-old first-time starters.