Alva Starr, Vahva to pass on La Brea, aim for other races

High-class Fair Grounds-based 3-year-old filly sprinters Vahva and Alva Starr in a different year likely would be starting Dec. 26 at Santa Anita in the Grade 1 La Brea. Instead, the two fillies, respectively first and second last out in the Grade 2 Raven Run at Keeneland, are being aimed at lesser objectives.

Connections of the pair found a dearth of California-bound flights in December. Faced with the prospect of a 28-hour van trip, everyone took a pass.

Alva Starr, who won the Grade 2 Prioress on Sept. 2 at Saratoga by nearly nine lengths, will make her next start at Oaklawn Park, either in the Poinsettia Stakes on Dec. 30 or the American Beauty on Jan. 27, trainer Brett Brinkman said.

Vahva, who captured the Grade 3 Charles Town Oaks before a sharp score in the Raven Run, is being pointed toward the Grade 2, $200,000 Inside Information Stakes on Jan. 27 at Gulfstream Park, trainer Cherie DeVaux said.

“It’s too bad because the La Brea had been her goal since Keeneland,” said DeVaux. “Hopefully she wins a Grade 1 sometime this year and it all works out.”

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