Stay Hot makes it three consecutive stakes wins with Pasadena

ARCADIA, Calif. - Displaying a slightly different strategy than shown in his recent starts, Stay Hot stalked the pace en route to a third consecutive stakes win in Saturday’s $98,000 Pasadena Stakes for 3-year-old milers on turf at Santa Anita.

In the Grade 3 Cecil B. DeMille Stakes at a mile on turf at Del Mar on Dec. 1, and the Baffle Stakes at about 6 1/2 furlongs on the hillside turf course at Santa Anita on Feb. 17, Stay Hot closed from the back of the field to reach the front in the final strides.

In the Pasadena Stakes, Stay Hot stalked early leader Island Cruiser to early stretch before reaching the front more than a furlong from the finish under jockey Antonio Fresu.

“I had one horse in front of me,” Fresu said. “I had to ask him to quicken.”

After he took the lead, Stay Hot had to be urged to maintain his advantage.

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“He was waiting for the other horses,” Fresu said. “When they came to him, he kept going.”

Sent off favored, Stay Hot ($4) finished a head in front of 3-1 Guy Named Joe, who was three-quarters of a length in front of third-place finisher Lord Bullingdon, the winner of the Eddie Logan Stakes at a mile on turf in his preceding start on Dec. 29.

Island Cruiser faded to finish fourth in the small field after setting an early pace of 22.97 seconds for the opening quarter-mile and 47.88 for a half-mile. Uncle Truly was withdrawn early Saturday.

Stay Hot was timed in 1:35.37 and earned a career-best Beyer Speed Figure of 86.

Trained by Peter Eurton, Stay Hot has won 4 of 7 starts and earned $236,940. His only loss in five starts on turf to date was a 10th-place finish in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf at Santa Anita last November.

Owned by Exline-Border Racing, Burns Racing, SAF Racing, the family of the late Brereton Jones and William Hudock, Stay Hot is by Summer Front and was purchased for $130,000 as a yearling.

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