Better 'Fortune' on turf?

DEL MAR, Calif. - A surface switch this summer may turn out to be the key to changing House of Fortune's luck.

A multiple stakes winner, House of Fortune is in the midst of a seven-race losing streak, dating back to the Grade 2 Hollywood Breeders' Cup Oaks on dirt at Hollywood Park in June 2004.

But on Sunday, House of Fortune, 4, will make her second start on turf in the $125,000 Solana Beach Handicap at Del Mar. The race comes six weeks after House of Fortune finished a close second in her grass debut.

"Being that it was her first time, I thought she ran well," trainer Ron McAnally said.

It does not hurt House of Fortune's chances that the Solana Beach Handicap is run for statebred fillies and mares over 1 1/16 miles. Owned by Arnold Zetcher, House of Fortune has been running mostly in graded stakes in recent months, including a third in the Grade 3 Hawthorne Handicap at Hollywood Park in May.

"I tried to put her in the easiest spot to get her confidence back," McAnally said of the Solana Beach. "I'm real pleased with her."

There are few fillies and mares in the field of eight who can cause House of Fortune problems.

Valentine Dancer, a winner of more than $1.1 million, is seeking to end a three-race losing streak. Owned by Al and Sandee Kirkwood and trained by Craig Lewis, Valentine Dancer has run in statebred and graded stakes this year. A six-time winner on turf, Valentine Dancer was third in the Grade 2 Clement Hirsch Handicap on dirt Aug. 7.

Lewis said he respects House of Fortune, but says Valentine Dancer is approaching the race in top form.

"Her bankroll speaks for itself," Lewis said.

Scrofa won the Irish O'Brien Stakes on the Santa Anita hillside turf course in March, but has lost two subsequent starts. She was a troubled ninth in the Osunitas Handicap on turf here Aug. 10, her first start in more than three months.

Candy Factory is making her stakes debut. Trained by Mike Machowsky for Dahlberg Farms, Candy Factory is attempting to stretch her winning streak to four. She won a maiden race and an allowance race for statebreds in 2004 while trained by Mike Puype, and won her 2005 debut in a one-mile allowance race against open company Aug. 13.