Deep field of statebreds for Fran's Valentine

ARCADIA, Calif. – The mood will be festive Saturday at Santa Anita Park, the track where Justify launched his career and where a 12-race live card will accompany the Preakness Stakes simulcast from Pimlico.

Justify is odds-on to win the Preakness, while the Santa Anita feature race carries greater wagering appeal.

The $100,000 Fran’s Valentine Stakes, a turf route for California-bred fillies and mares, marks the resumption of the statebred stakes program interrupted earlier this spring. The $100,000 Dream of Summer Stakes, a dirt route April 15, was canceled due to lack of entries.

A field of 11 will take a shot in the Fran’s Valentine on grass, including 2017 winner Moonless Sky, who inherited victory after Pacific Wind was disqualified and placed sixth for interference.

Moonless Sky was a 6.80-1 longshot in the Fran’s Valentine last year, after which she solidified her status as a top California-bred female by winning two of her next six starts and finishing second in a $150,000 statebred turf mile at Del Mar.

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Saturday at Santa Anita, Moonless Sky will try to win the Fran’s Valentine without stewards getting involved. This will be a challenge. Moonless Sky has not raced since January, and many of her 10 rivals enter with legitimate credentials.

How About Zero and Barbara Beatrice are California-bred stakes-winning turf sprinters. Cordiality and Shy Carmelita are second-level allowance winners. Cheekaboo won a Grade 2 two years ago, and Desert Steel is a stakes-placed turf sprinter.

Along with longshot closer Speakers, Halo Darlin, Coco Kisses, and Lynne’s Legacy, the Fran’s Valentine is deep. It is race 9 on a 12-race card. First post Saturday is noon.

KEY CONTENDERS

Moonless Sky, by Bold Chieftain
Last 3 Beyers: 79-86-81

◗ Eddie Truman trains Moonless Sky, who returns from a layoff of more than four months, the longest layoff of her career. Moonless Sky, whose rider is Kent Desormeaux, has won 5 of 13.

Cordiality, by Papa Clem
Last 3 Beyers: 85-89-71

◗ A late supplement to the Fran’s Valentine, Cordiality won a second-level allowance two starts back and finished only a head behind Moonless Sky last summer at Del Mar. Mark Glatt trains, Tyler Baze rides.

Speakers, by Unusual Heat
Last 3 Beyers: 77-80-49

◗ A closer, she figures as a longshot contender based on her highly rated California-bred allowance win two starts back. Paddy Gallagher is her trainer, Drayden Van Dyke rides.