In two losses this year, Grand Slam Smile has finished behind top-level fillies in one-mile turf races. Grand Slam Smile was third behind Thought Process in the Grade 2 Buena Vista Stakes in February and third by a length behind Take A Breath and May Day Ready in the Grade 3 Royal Heroine Stakes at Santa Anita on April 25. Those fillies are entered in Monday’s Grade 1 Gamely Stakes at Santa Anita. Grand Slam Smile, a winner of 11 of 20 starts, will race in Saturday’s $100,000 Fran’s Valentine Stakes at a mile on turf for statebred fillies. A retreat to a race for statebreds “was the primary reason” Grand Slam Smile was entered, trainer Sean McCarthy said. “I couldn’t find a reason not to run here,” he said. Bettors will find few reasons to oppose Grand Slam Smile, who has won two turf sprints for statebred fillies and mares at Santa Anita this year. In her last start against statebreds at a mile on turf, Grand Slam Smile won the Solana Beach Stakes at Del Mar last August from the front. :: Access morning workout reports straight from the tracks and get an edge with DRF Clocker Reports In the Fran’s Valentine, Grand Slam Smile will be favored. She is likely to set the pace or stalk the outsider Quick Kate, who won an allowance race at six furlongs on dirt May 3. There will be no specific race strategy with Grand Slam Smile, a 5-year-old mare owned by Larry and Marianne Williams. “She’s tactical,” McCarthy said. “We end up on the lead because she’s fastest getting away from there. You won’t want to take that away from her. “I’m fine sitting second or third.” A quick pace may lead to a fascinating stretch duel between Grand Slam Smile and Om N Joy, a four-time stakes winner on dirt last spring and summer. Om N Joy was third in the Grade 1 Beholder Mile at Santa Anita in March and fifth in the Grade 1 Apple Blossom Handicap at Oaklawn Park on April 11. “From a Grade 1 to a Cal-bred race, I’ll take it,” trainer Aggie Ordonez said. The Fran’s Valentine Stakes is Om N Joy’s first start against statebreds since a win in the Fleet Treat Stakes for 3-year-olds at seven furlongs at Del Mar last July. Om N Joy is winless in four career starts on turf, a record Ordonez insists should not be judged too harshly. Om N Joy had her first four starts on turf and has raced only on dirt for the last 14 months. “We’ll give her an opportunity to be as good on grass,” Ordonez said. “I was never convinced that she was 100 percent better because of the surface change. A lot of it was growth and maturity.” Om N Joy is a closer. She won stakes at distances ranging from 6 1/2 furlongs to 1 1/16 miles last year with that style. “That wouldn’t disappoint me if there is a hot pace,” Ordonez said. “She has a quick turn of foot, and that’s usually effective on the grass. She’s not just a plodder.” Crystal Water Flyover has amassed a career record of five wins in 10 starts, largely by success in turf sprints. A 5-year-old, Flyover won his first stakes by leading throughout at 6-1 in the Sensational Star Stakes for statebreds on the hillside turf course at Santa Anita on March 22. The same speed can carry Flyover to a win in the $100,000 Crystal Water Stakes for statebreds at a mile on turf. The distance is not new for Flyover. Last May, Flyover won an allowance race for statebreds at a mile on turf. He has raced in sprints since last September. The statebred condition of the Crystal Water had more appeal than the distance, according to trainer John Sadler. “He’s got a win at a mile” on turf, Sadler said. “It’s more about him staying in the Cal-bred group. He’s not a dirt horse.” Flyover is the only 2026 stakes winner among nine entrants in the Crystal Water. Santa Barbarian, winner of the 2025 Snow Chief Stakes for statebred 3-year-olds on turf, and On the Whim, winner of the 2024 California Flag Stakes on the hillside turf course, will be in pursuit of Flyover. Any sort of rapid pace will help Prince Dolce, who won a starter allowance at a mile on turf on April 26 at 14-1, his second win this year. “At the sixteenth pole, his stride lengthened,” trainer Steve Knapp said. Prince Dolce will be an outsider again on Saturday. Thor’s Echo Last November, Big City Lights accomplished a dubious first in his career, finishing outside of the top three in two stakes at Del Mar. He was eighth in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint on Nov. 1 after a 10-month layoff, and ninth, after a slow start, in the Stormy Liberal Stakes on turf at the end of the month. Big City Lights was given the winter off and won his first start of 2026 in a seven-furlong allowance race at Santa Anita on May 2. The victory has led to an appearance in the $100,000 Thor’s Echo Stakes for statebreds at six furlongs. In the comfort of the California-bred division, Big City Lights will be favored in a field of seven that does not include the multiple stakes winners Man O Rose or Lovesick Blues, the 2025 California-bred Horse of the Year. Instead, Big City Lights starts against Pure Madness, who has not raced since an easy win in an allowance race in September 2024, and Lonesome Stew, who won an allowance race on the hillside turf course on April 25 in his first start in nearly 13 months. Pure Madness and Lonesome Stew are quick enough to lead, which may help Big City Lights, a 7-year-old horse who has won 8 of 16 starts. In the allowance race on May 2, Big City Lights was third early and won by a half-length. “He showed a lot of heart,” trainer Richard Mandella said. “We expected him to run that good.” :: Santa Anita Classic Meet! Get DRF Past Performances, Clocker Reports, and more. Lonesome Stew has won three times on dirt and three times on turf in his 11-race career. “He seems to run equally well on both surfaces,” trainer Mark Glatt said. An outside draw will help Lonesome Stew, according to Glatt. “I think he got a great post,” Glatt said. “He always lays pretty close. He’ll be in a striking position.” Pure Madness drew the inside post for his stakes debut. “This horse seems pretty solid and doing pretty good,” trainer Brian Koriner said. “I think he has the class.” :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? 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