Everyone fears She's a Jewel

ARCADIA, Calif. - Good news for opposing horsemen is bad news for chalk players Sunday at Santa Anita, where vulnerable favorite She's a Jewel entered the $75,000 Anoakia Stakes for 2-year-old fillies. Her status is questionable.

She's a Jewel dashed to a five-length maiden win in her last start, earning an 81 Beyer Speed Figure that would make her a leading contender in the six-furlong Anoakia. But will she start?

"I don't know," trainer Vladimir Cerin said Friday. "I haven't had a chance to work her; I don't know how fit she is having missed some time."

The filly's training schedule has been hampered by wet weather - her last workout was Oct. 14 - and Cerin will wait until Sunday to decide whether to start a short filly or skip the race. She's a Jewel is stabled at rain-soaked Santa Anita, while across town at Hollywood Park, leading Anoakia contenders Bertha Jo and Hello Lucky have not missed a day.

"Training has been a little interrupted at Santa Anita, but we've been training right along [at Hollywood]," said Mike Puype, whose Bertha Jo produced a huge rally last out in a $118,000 stakes at Fairplex Park. She went from 10th to third and, Puype said, "put in as good of a run as you can at Pomona."

A pace-presser her first two starts before rallying from behind last time, Bertha Jo will be closer to the lead Sunday. She adds blinkers, blew out a quarter-mile from the gate Friday, and has a big chance at a fat price.

Bertha Jo earned a 65 Beyer her last two starts, and must overcome the inside post. She might not be good enough, but unlike the favorite, Bertha Jo enters in peak condition. Kerwin John rides her back, and Puype's analysis reflects the general consensus: "I'm afraid of [She's a Jewel] if she runs, but against the rest of the group, I'm not afraid of what's in there."

The filly to fear is Hello Lucky, who drops out of graded stakes and shortens to a sprint.

A two-time Calder winner before owner Charles Cono sent her to California, Hello Lucky started twice for trainer Chris Paasch at Del Mar, finishing third in the Grade 3 Sorrento and the Grade 1 Del Mar Debutante.

"I don't know if she's a standout if [She's a Jewel] is in there, but I will say this - the real Hello Lucky will show up Sunday," said Paasch.