Purely Hot should be comfortable in Satin and Lace

Purely Hot returns to her favorite track and will be running at her favorite distance Sunday in the $100,000 Satin and Lace Stakes at Presque Isle Downs.

“She is definitely at her favorite track,” said trainer Tevis McCauley. “She has won six of seven there, and the one time she didn’t win, she ran second to Groupie Doll in the Grade 2 Masters. The stats read five of seven, but she won another one and was later disqualified.”

Purely Hot won the Grade 3 Whimsical Stakes at Woodbine on April 26 but finished a lackadaisical seventh in the Grade 3 Hendrie Stakes in her last out May 24, also at Woodbine. McCauley takes some of the blame for that showing.

“It was partly my fault,” he said. “I had her too sharp. Ideally, she likes to back off early and then come running. She does better with a target in front of her. She was up dueling early three wide, and you might say they had a pace meltdown. The horse on the lead finished dead last, and she finished second to last.”

The distance wasn’t ideal either, according to McCauley.

“Six and a half is a little out of her comfort zone,” he said. “She is best from five to six furlongs.”

McCauley has had this race in his sights since the beginning of the year.

“We sent her from Woodbine the day after her last race, and she has been at Presque Isle ever since,” he said. “We plan on running her in their starter-sprint series, where the purses get up to almost $60,000, and then in the Masters again this year. She absolutely loves that place.”

Ronnie Allen Jr. will ride.

There is an abundance of speed in the 12-horse field for the 5 1/2-furlong Satin and Lace, and Goldstryke Glory could be the fastest of the fast. Trained by Kelly Callaghan, the 4-year-old filly set the pace for Purely Hot in the Whimsical while making her only start this year. Last season, she won 3 of 6 races and earned more than $171,000. Jesse Campbell will ride once again.

Sweet Cassiopeia will be looking for her second win of the year for trainer Bill Connelly. Two starts ago, she won the Unbridled Stakes at Churchill Downs on May 10. The 6-year-old mare has won 5 of 13 synthetic-track starts and has been off the board in only three of them. Malcolm Franklin will ship in to ride, and that jockey-trainer combo has won at a 31 percent rate over the past two years.