Purely Hot closed into a hot pace to capture Saturday’s $159,300 Grade 3 Whimsical Stakes, at Woodbine.
Purely Hot, trained by Tevis McCauley for Unlimited Equine LLC, earned her first graded win with a powerful stretch run to overtake pacesetter Goldstryke Glory in the six furlong ‘Poly’ stake with Chantal Sutherland Kruse in the irons.
Sutherland Kruse picked up the mount from Eurico Rosa da Silva who was injured in a paddock accident one race prior to the feature event.
Goldstryke Glory blasted through splits of :22.38 and :44.69 with Youcan’tcatchme, recently crowned Canada’s champion filly sprinter, pinned to her flank.
Sutherland Kruse waited patiently from third position through the turn and when she asked Purely Fun to run, the mare responded with an explosive kick overtaking the pacesetters in the final furlong for a 3 1/2-length win. Spring in the Air closed for place over Mekong Delta. Purely Hot covered six furlongs in 1:09.69.
“She was easy to ride,” said Sutherland Kruse. “We figured the track was playing a little stalking today and it all worked out. When she wanted to run it was great. She just took off.”
Purely Hot came into the Whimsical off a third-place run, following a four-month layoff, in a Keeneland allowance tilt on April 9. That Keeneland result was not a disappointment for Alex McCauley, brother and assistant to trainer Tevis.
“Not at all disappointed (with that first start back)” said McCauley. “We figured she would need the race and it set her up perfectly for this.”
Purely Hot, a six-year-old Pure Prize mare bred in Maryland by Dr and Mrs A. Leonard Pineau, banked $90,000 in victory while improving her record to 12-3-4 from 28 starts.
She returned $15.10, $5.60 and $3.60, pairing with Spring in the Air ($3.80, $2.50) for a $58.20 (4-6) exactor. A 4-6-2 (Mekong Delta, $4.30 to show) triactor was worth $329.30.
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