Astute, after solid Desi Arnaz win, possible for Starlet next

Astute, impressive winner of the Desi Arnaz Stakes for 2-year-old fillies on Saturday, will be considered for the Grade 1 Starlet at Los Alamitos on Dec. 5 for her next start, trainer Richard Mandella said Sunday, while cautioning the three-week turnaround must be pondered.

“Might be too quick back. Might not. We’ll just have to play it by ear,” Mandella said.

The Starlet, restricted to fillies, is 21 days after the Desi Arnaz. Curiously, its counterpart, the Grade 2 Los Alamitos Futurity, is Dec. 19, 34 days after the Grade 3 Bob Hope, which was run Sunday at Del Mar.

Mandella said all was well with Astute 24 hours after her runaway victory, in which she earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 87. She is unbeaten in two starts.

The Starlet field is expected to include Princess Noor, a two-time Grade 1 winner who suffered her first career loss in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies.

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** Midcourt will defend his title against five rivals Saturday in the Grade 3, $100,000 Native Diver Stakes for older horses at 1 1/8 miles. The race also includes Combatant, winner of the Santa Anita Handicap earlier this year, as well as Royal Ship, Extra Hope, and the filly Stellar Sound. Midcourt was third to Improbable and Maximum Security in the Grade 1 Awesome Again at Santa Anita in his last start.

** Jockey Abel Cedillo was fined $500 for overuse of the whip, even though it was a first-time offense, for a winning ride in the sixth race at Del Mar on Friday. Jockeys are limited to six uses of the whip in a race. Cedillo’s winning share of the purse was $1,200. After paying his agent 25 percent ($300), he nets $400 for trying to win. Apprentice Jessica Pyfer was fined $200 for an incident Saturday, her second offense in the past two months.

** Eswan Flores was suspended for three days, beginning Friday, after incurring his fourth whip-use violation within 60 days for a ride Nov. 8.

** Eleven months after the race in question, Del Mar’s stewards have disqualified Smiling to Excess, trained by Paul Aguirre, from a second-place finish in a race last Dec. 14 at Los Alamitos owing to the presence of the Class 3 medication Gabapentin, which has analgesic properties.