Pacific Heat Looks to Step Up in Starlet

Pacific Heat (Unusual Heat), tabbed a 'TDN Rising Star' after a devastating debut win against state-bred foes at Los Alamitos in September, looks to step up to Grade I company and remain unbeaten when she returns to that track in Saturday's GI Starlet S. The filly, owned by Sharon Alesia, Mike Burns and Ciaglia Racing LLC, is now two-for-two after adding a 5 1/4-length victory against fellow Cal-breds in the Oct. 29 Golden Gate Juvenile Fillies S. going seven furlongs at Del Mar. She'll have to be supplemented to the Starlet, but the decision to run in the

1 1/16-mile race was an easy one for trainer Peter Eurton.

“Opportunity,” Eurton said when asked about the decision to supplement Pacific Heat to the Starlet. “We may not see this race again at a track that she seems to love–she broke her maiden by 13 lengths, granted that was against Cal-breds. But she is bred to go longer and this is a chance to win a Grade I race against a field that doesn't have a [divisional leader] Songbird in it.”

Pacific Heat prepped for the Starlet with a four-furlong work at Santa Anita Saturday in :48.60.

“I wasn't looking to overdo it too much,” Eurton said of the work. “She is a filly that runs very fresh. She is a very competitive filly, so it's not like I have to reinvent the wheel here. She's been working pretty strong in her previous two works, so I just wanted to give her something to stretch her legs. I knew she was going to gallop out strong. I just wanted to keep her happy, that's all.”

Pacific Heat topped the 2014 Barretts October Yearling Sale with a bid of $175,000. Her half-sister is stakes winner and graded stakes placed Long Hot Summer (Street Boss), who topped the Barretts May sale when selling for $260,000 in 2014.

“I think we got fortunate that there wasn't bigger money there,” Eurton said of his October sale purchase. “But it was a lot of money for a California-bred Unusual Heat. Larry Zap brought her to me and I just fell in love with her. She already had a family behind her and she had size. It wasn't that difficult to buy her.”

While he knew he had a talented filly on his hands, Eurton admitted he was surprised by the ease of Pacific Heat's 13 1/2-length debut romp.

“I thought she had talent,” Eurton said. “I thought we'd be able to show it off on grass, pedigree-wise. She did things very easy. She wouldn't run away from horses. She'd just do what she needed to do. She was a perfect workmate at that time. I was expecting a good race, but I didn't expect that.”

The Starlet will be Pacific Heat's first start past seven furlongs, but the stretch-out doesn't concern her trainer.

“I'd be more concerned about the company than the stretch-out,” he admitted.

Bob Baffert could be represented by a pair of runners in the Starlet S. and the duo tuned up with six-furlong works at Santa Anita Sunday. Karl Watson, Mike Pegram and Paul Weitman's Pretty N Cool (Scat Daddy) covered the distance in 1:13.00.

Winner of the GII Sorrento S. and GII Matron S., Pretty N Cool finished last of five as the favorite in the Nov. 15 Desi Arnaz S. last time out.

Hill 'n' Dale Equine Holdings and Edward McGhee's Treasuring (Smart Strike) also worked six furlongs in Arcadia Sunday. The filly, runner-up in the Desi Arnaz, covered the distance in 1:14.20. Baffert won the Starlet three times when it was contested at the now-defunct Hollywood Park. His most recent victory in the race came in 2013 with Streaming, a full-sister to Treasuring.

Also working at Santa Anita Saturday was Starlet nominee Street Fancy (Street Sense), who went six furlongs in 1:14.40. A debut winner at Santa Anita Oct. 18, the Agave Racing-owned filly was third in the Arnaz last time out. She is trained by Phil d'Amato, who could also be represented in the Starlet by maiden winner Coppa (Yesbyjimminy).

The list of Starlet possibles also includes a pair of fillies from the Jerry Hollendorfer barn: four-time stakes winner Stays in Vegas (City Zip) and Anoakia S. winner and Arnaz fourth-place finisher Surfside Tiara (Scat Daddy). Hollendorfer is already a two-time winner of the Starlet, having taken the race with Blind Luck in 2009 and Killer Graces in 2011.

Entries for the Starlet, which will be held at Los Alamitos for only the second time Saturday, will be taken Wednesday.