The wide, bold move that Avenue de France made on the turn in the Ouija Board Stakes at Lone Star Park on May 30 proved unsustainable. She could only manage second, yielding to fellow California shipper Park Avenue in the stretch. The loss in the one-mile turf race had a benefit. Because Avenue de France was beaten, she remained eligible for Saturday’s $100,000 Osunitas Stakes for at a mile on turf at Del Mar. The race is restricted to fillies and mares who have not won a stakes worth $50,000 or more to the winner since Sept. 1. Avenue de France has won two stakes since September, but they were minor races at Golden Gate Fields. “The conditions are perfect for her,” trainer Leonard Powell. “It’s Del Mar and the waters are deep. I hope she can be competitive.” :: DRF's Del Mar headquarters – Stakes schedule, previews, recaps, past performances, and more Many of the owners and trainers of the other 11 runners in the Osunitas have the same thoughts. The Osunitas, the ninth race on an 11-race program, not only drew a large field, but has several attractive candidates. Quattroelle, a stakes winner in 2020, was a good second in an allowance race at Santa Anita on June 17, her first start in nearly 13 months. She drew the rail and is a threat from off the pace. Hamwood Flier, recently transferred from trainer George Papaprodromou to Phil D’Amato, is likely to lead after an easy win in her American debut at a mile on turf at Santa Anita on May 29. D’Amato has three runners in the field, including the promising Amy C, who won an allowance race at about 6 1/2 furlongs on the hillside turf course at Santa Anita on June 18 in her second start of the year. Papaprodromou runs Sassyserb, a troubled second in the Fran’s Valentine Stakes for California-bred fillies and mares on May 28, and Rocking Redhead, who led throughout an allowance race at a mile on turf on May 21. Avenue de France, owned by a partnership that includes the Benowitz Family Trust and Convergence Stable, will be ridden for the first time by Juan Hernandez, the leading rider at the Santa Anita winter-spring meeting earlier this year. Hernandez has ridden the Powell-trained Neige Blanche to six stakes wins in the last 14 months. “He’s never worked [Avenue de France],” Powell said. “I don’t think that’s a problem. We’ve been lucky together.” Hernandez is likely to have Avenue de France in a tracking position. In the Ouija Board Distaff, jockey Florent Geroux had Avenue de France in eighth on the backstretch before launching a wide bid that moved the 5-year-old mare to the front. Powell thought Geroux urged Avenue de France too soon, but said the rally was something of an illusion. :: Visit the Del Mar Handicapping Store for Past Performances, Clocker Reports, Picks, Betting Strategies and more. “You’re thinking she was moving early, but everyone was backing up. The visual impression was a little bit false.” Just getting through a crowded field in the Osunitas will be difficult. If Hernandez can find a path Avenue de France has an excellent chance to win the richest race of her career.