At least some of the Breeders’ Cup winners this fall at Santa Anita are expected to have run in prep races at the host track of Santa Anita in the coming weeks. But at this stage, it seems unlikely that the Nov. 5 Filly and Mare Turf is one such race. The strength of the female turf division, both among older fillies and mares and with 3-year-old fillies, comes from the East Coast and Europe this year, not from California, where no one has been dominant. Not a single filly or mare has recorded more than one graded turf victory in Southern California this year. So, it should come as little surprise that horsemen are taking shots in Saturday’s Grade 1, $300,000 Rodeo Drive at Santa Anita, a Win and You’re In challenge race for the Filly and Mare Turf and the lone major prep for the race this weekend. A large field is expected, with Avenge, Elektrum, Frenzified, Majestic Heat, Sobradora Inc and Zipessa being the anticipated headliners. The Chicago-based Zipessa, third last out in the Grade 1 Beverly D. on Aug. 13, is headed west in part due to the parity in California, trainer Mike Stidham said. “They’ve been taking turns beating one another,” he said. “That’s probably why it’s going to be a full field. Everyone is thinking the same thing.” Other factors that weighed into his decision to try the 1 1/4-mile Rodeo Drive, run at the same distance as the Filly and Mare Turf, is his inkling that she could prefer racing in longer, slow-paced routes, which might allow her to make the lead early or in the middle of the race and get a breather. A miler for much of her career, Zipessa has not raced beyond the 1 3/16 miles of the Beverly D., in which she surged to the lead in midrace before being outkicked in the lane by the favored Sea Calisi and longshot Al’s Gal. Sea Calisi, expected to race in the Grade 1 Flower Bowl at Belmont on Oct. 8, is widely considered one of the leading U.S.-based hopefuls for the Filly and Mare Turf. Avenge, who just lasted to win the Grade 2 John C. Mabee at Del Mar, is another who gets a distance test in the Rodeo Drive. A longtime sprinter, she has only routed three times in her 13-race career, though two of those starts resulted in victories. The Mabee, her longest race, came at 1 1/8 miles. The top U.S. contenders for the Filly and Mare Turf are expected to race in early to mid-October, with the Flower Bowl likely to be the key Breeders’ Cup prep for older mares and the Oct. 15 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup at Keeneland drawing the cream of the 3-year-old filly turf division, led by Catch a Glimpse and Time and Motion. :: BREEDERS’ CUP 2016: See DRF’s top contenders