Pure Loyalty looks to take next step toward stakes
ARCADIA, Calif. – A second-place finish by Pure Loyalty in an allowance race at Del Mar in August has left trainer Mark Glatt hopeful that the 4-year-old colt can become a stakes runner this winter.
Pure Loyalty returned from a layoff of nearly eight months to finish second Aug. 17, a performance that leads to an appearance in a second-level optional $62,500 claimer over 1 1/8 miles on turf at Santa Anita on Friday. The distance is not ideal to Glatt, but Pure Loyalty’s recent exercise has left him encouraged.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 2 Pure Loyalty. Trainer Mark Glatt is 68-8-7-8 with a $0.93 ROI over the past five years in turf routes at Santa Anita. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
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“I thought this was the right race for him,” Glatt said. “I think it’s a tad farther than I would prefer, but he’s training excellent.”
Pure Loyalty has won 2 of 16 starts and earned $183,430 for Norman Stables. In his comeback at Del Mar, Pure Loyalty raced between runners early and closed in the final furlong to finish 1 1/2 lengths behind Sawyer’s Hill.
“He had a little bit of trouble or he could have been a little bit closer,” Glatt said.
Pure Loyalty is part of a field of eight in Friday’s seventh race, a field that includes four stakes winners – Crushed It, who won the Robert Dupret Derby at Santa Rosa in August; Den’s Legacy, the winner of the 2012 Generous Stakes at Hollywood Park; Ethnic Dance, who won a division of the Grade 2 Del Mar Derby in 2013; and Persuasive Paul, who won the 2013 Turf Paradise Derby.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 1 Den's Legacy. Trainer Bob Baffert is 113-10-17-15 with a $0.51 ROI over the past five years in turf races at Santa Anita. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
Race 7
KEY CONTENDERS
Pure Loyalty (Last 3 Beyers: 86-83-83)
◗ Pure Loyalty was second and third in turf stakes for 3-year-olds in 2013. Glatt said he thinks the colt may be changing and could show a more patient style for jockey Rafael Bejarano on Friday.
“He’s a year older, and with that layoff, he’s learned to relax more,” Glatt said. “He’s a stronger and heavier horse than he was as a 3-year-old. If he improves a little bit, he could be a stakes horse.”
Mega Heat (Last 3 Beyers: 86-82-91)
◗ A 7-year-old gelding, Mega Heat makes his 20th start Friday. He has won eight times, most recently in a $75,000 claimer here in March. Trained by Peter Eurton, Mega Heat was third behind Pure Loyalty on Aug. 17.
Te Rapa (Last 3 Beyers: 86-82-89)
◗ The veteran Te Rapa was third in a strong allowance race over a mile on turf at Del Mar on Aug. 15. He has won six times on turf but only once in 10 starts at Santa Anita.
Kulik Lodge (Last 3 Beyers: 91-81-69)
◗ He has improved with each start and was a game winner of an optional claimer by a nose at Del Mar on Aug. 9 in his 2014 debut. Trained by Tom Proctor, Kulik Lodge will be one of the favorites and a threat if he can repeat his last race.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 7 Kulik Lodge. Trainer Tom Proctor is 26-8-4-6 with a $2.03 ROI over the past year in Southern California turf routes with last-out winners. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 8 Ethnic Dance. Trainer John Sadler is 50-4-9-11 with a $0.91 ROI over the past year in turf routes at Santa Anita following a layoff of between 31 and 60 days. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan