Bryan’s Jewel tries to end seven-race losing streak in Winter Melody

Bryan’s Jewel, who won the Grade 3 Obeah seven days after winning an off-the-turf listed stakes last spring, and Montana Native, winner of the $200,000 Remington Oaks last fall, will both try to regain their form in Wednesday’s $50,000 Winter Melody, an overnight stakes for fillies and mares Wednesday at Delaware Park.

The Winter Melody, which will be contested at 1 1/16 miles, drew a field of eight and goes as race 7 at 3:57 p.m. Eastern.

Last spring as a 5-year-old, Bryan’s Jewel got good for a 3 1/2-week stretch at Delaware. After finishing second in the Winter Melody, she came back 17 days later to score by nearly four lengths in the John Rooney Memorial, and wheeled back a week later to take the 1 1/8-mile Obeah by a neck.

Bryan’s Jewel is winless in seven subsequent starts, including four races at Oaklawn Park this year. On the plus side, four of Bryan’s Jewel’s six lifetime wins have come on dirt at Delaware and her trainer, Mac Robertson, is 6 for 21 (29 percent) with horses switching from sprints to routes on dirt following a break of 31 to 60 days.

As a 3-year-old in 2013, Montana Native won four races, including a restricted stakes at Saratoga and the 1 1/16-mile Remington Oaks by a nose in the final start of her nine-race campaign. In two starts at 4, Montana Native was third as the even-money favorite in the Wayward Lass at Tampa Bay Downs and last of five behind the talented Princess of Sylmar in last month’s Cat Cay at Aqueduct.

The 5-year-old Made Up steps up in class after winning her last two starts by a combined margin of 11 3/4 lengths.

Blue Violet has also crossed the wire first in each of her last two starts, although she was disqualified to fifth for interference last time out at Pimlico.

Villette, winner of a stakes for Pennsylvania-breds last year, stretches out for the third start of her current form cycle after missing by a neck in the seven-furlong Foxy J.G. Stakes at Parx.

◗ Handle was down on opening day on Saturday compared with a year ago. According to Equibase figures, ontrack handle on Delaware’s eight-race card of $173,648 dropped 17 percent from the 2013 opening-day figure of $208,536. All-sources handle declined 21 percent from $670,884 to $532,993. Part of that decline can be attributed to the fact that just seven Thoroughbred and one Arabian race were run last weekend, one fewer race than on opening day 2013. Using average per race numbers, ontrack handle declined 6 percent and all-sources handle was down 11 percent.