Calder Oaks looks like Summer of Fun's for the taking

Summer of Fun towers over her eight rivals in Saturday’s $100,000 Calder Oaks, scheduled for 1 1/16 miles on turf.

Among the five 3-year-old fillies opposing Summer of Fun with a turf win to their credit, four needed to run against maiden claiming company to achieve success. In contrast, Summer of Fun came within a head of winning the Grade 3 Jessamine at Keeneland last fall, outran her 43-1 odds to be beaten less than two lengths in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf, and returned from 4 1/2 months on the sidelines to score by 3 1/2 lengths in a first-level optional $75,000 claimer at Gulfstream Park last month.

The only chance to beat Summer of Fun may be if thunderstorms in the forecast shift the Oaks to Calder’s main track or if the turf course is usable but soggy. Summer of Fun’s two worst races came when she was 10th over yielding ground in the Grade 2 Natalma at Woodbine and a distant fifth of seven sprinting over a sloppy track at Saratoga in her career debut.

If the Oaks is contested on a wet main track, Toasting would become a viable alternative. Toasting is 2 for 2 on wet tracks, including a romp in the slop going 1 1/16 miles at Gulfstream in mid-February.

The options for bettors trying to beat the George Weaver-trained Summer of Fun on turf are less appealing.

E B Ryder and Faerie Queen both face winners for the first time following wins over high-priced maiden claimers at Gulfstream.

E B Ryder, from the high-percentage barn of Marty Wolfson, overcame a slow start to rally from far back to get up by a head Feb. 3. The fillies she beat are a collective 0 for 7 since then. From a small sampling, Wolfson is 0 for 4 with last-out maiden winners returning in a turf route following a layoff.

Faerie Queene scored first time off the claim for trainer David Braddy with a career-best 75 Beyer Speed Figure. Braddy’s numbers with last-out maiden winners seeking a repeat is just 2 for 18 (11 percent).

Love to Score, a deep closer, made a late move to get third in an optonal $50,000 claimer March 29. Trainer Manny Azpurua is 6 for 67 (9 percent) with turf route runners returning in 15 days or less.