Golden Gate Fields: Marks Mine stands out in Camilla Urso Stakes

Marks Mine became the queen of Northern California sprinters last summer when she won the California State Fair Sprint and the Harvest Stakes as a 3-year-old, beating older rivals. On Saturday, she will try to maintain that title when she takes on seven rivals as the 2-1 morning-line favorite in the $50,000-added Camilla Urso at six furlongs on the Tapeta main track at Golden Gate Fields.

Marks Mine, a 4-year-old Benchmark filly, has credentials that far outshine any of her rivals. She is a multiple stakes winner, including a victory at this distance as a 2-year-old in the Golden Gate Debutante.

Only one of her rivals has won a stakes, Marketway, who won the Boulevard Casino Stakes at Hastings as a 2-year-old.

Marks Mine’s trainer, Steve Specht, eyed several options at Santa Anita for her, including the $100,000 Irish O’Brien for California-breds on turf Saturday, but opted to stay home.

“When you travel, you risk illness or injury,” he said. “It’s only 500 miles away, but we decided to stay home.”

Marks Mine ran second in the Sunshine Millions Filly and Mare Turf Sprint in her last start Jan. 26 on Santa Anita’s hillside turf course.

“She ran well, but she jumped when she had to cross the main track,” Specht said. “That probably cost her the race. There’s no guarantee she wouldn’t do it again.”

Specht is confident that Marks Mine will run well, particularly after a strong 1:13.60 six-furlong drill March 6.

“She’s doing good,” he said. “She’ll be very tough.”

Southern California imports Minds Eye and Miss Lucky Sevens likely will supply the primary competition. Miss Lucky Sevens won a six-furlong sprint at Keeneland last year in her lone start on a synthetic surface.

Marketway has raced only once since her stakes win at 2, winning an allowance race last April. She will be ridden by Kentucky Derby-winning jockey Mario Gutierrez.

Happybirthdaybaby enters with a three-race winning streak after being claimed by Jerry Hollendorfer last November. She has five wins and a second in six starts here. Happybirthdaybaby ran fourth behind Marks Mine in the Harvest Stakes at Stockton before the claim.

Koby Jo ran third behind Marks Mine in an allowance race here on the opening day of the meeting. Fast and Foxy, a possible pace rival making her stakes debut, and Esperanza Latina round out the field.