ARCADIA, Calif. – Maiden fillies are in the spotlight Friday at Santa Anita, where key races include the meet’s first five-furlong race for 2-year-olds and a filly-mare sprint in which a stakes-placed comebacker is heavily favored to win her first start at age 3. Friday’s eight-race card attracted 48 entrants as the California horse shortage intensifies. The average-starters-per-race metric has declined month after month at Santa Anita – 7.9 in January, 7.6 in February, 6.9 in March, 6.8 in April, and 6.7 in May. In race 4 on Friday, Harddiane stretches to five furlongs after a wide-trip runner-up debut at 4 1/2 furlongs. Harddiane broke from post 7, stayed wide into and through the turn, and finished second by 5 1/2 lengths. According to Trakus, Harddiane covered 31 feet more than the winner. Harddiane, trained by Ryan Hanson and ridden again by apprentice Emily Ellingwood, drew the outside post Friday and should improve second time out. Harddiane, by Hard Spun, was purchased as a yearling for $8,000. :: DRF Bets players get FREE Daily Racing Form Past Performances and up to 5% weekly cashback. Join Now.  Rivals for Harddiane include a trio of first-time starters sired by first-crop stallions. Among the firsters are Ruby Ray, a Doug O’Neill trainee by Klimt, who won the Grade 1 Del Mar Futurity in 2016. Although none of the first seven runners by Klimt have won, the gate speed Ruby Ray displayed in her May 29 work suggests she is well-meant. We All Agree, sired by Grade 2 winner Unified, has posted fast work times for trainer Luis Mendez. Signora Minister, whose sire, Valiant Minister, won his only start against maidens, has been training at San Luis Rey Downs with Peter Miller. While the juvenile maiden filly race may or may not be won by Harddiane, the race-6 sprint for fillies and mares looks like a slam dunk. Illumination finished a creditable second in her debut against maidens last summer at Del Mar, then ran in three successive stakes. Thirds in the Grade 1 Del Mar Debutante and Anoakia Stakes at Santa Anita were sandwiched around a fourth in a Grade 2 route. :: Enhance your handicapping with DRF’s Santa Anita Clocker Report Bob Baffert trains Illumination, who has posted a series of fast works for her comeback, including back-to-back bullet drills. In her most recent work, Illumination dusted maiden winner Private Mission. Illumination breaks from the rail under Abel Cedillo and should be long gone as the most probable winner on the card. Her main rival is Phil D’Amato-trained first-time starter Flipping Fast. Zydeco Mama, Gutz, and Optimas also entered the five-runner field.