Little separates six fillies

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - A field of six evenly matched 3-year-old fillies will contest Thursday's $65,000 Flat Fleet Feet, an overnight stakes at a mile and 70 yards for nonwinners of a graded stakes this year.

The two fillies to have run Beyer Speed Figures of 90 or better, Altesse and Homerette, try two turns on dirt for the first time. Neither can afford to bring anything but her "A" game, because Lady of Clare, Love Locket, Daytime Promise, and Diamond Spirit have Beyer tops ranging from 86 to 88.

Altesse, who has run in one-turn miles most of the year, makes her third start back from a layoff for Shug McGaughey. She finished last of three in the restricted My Flag Stakes last out, and matched her lifetime Beyer top of 90.

Homerette owns the field's top figure of 92, recorded in the Terreavigne, an overnight stakes for New York-bred fillies on yielding turf. She has won at all three New York Racing Association tracks this year, beginning with a six-furlong maiden win on a "good" inner track here last January.

"I think it's a pretty tough spot, but we'll probably end up giving it a whirl, especially if it's a fast track," said trainer Pat Kelly. "I'm a little leery of her going too far, but she's getting a vacation after this and going to Carolina for the winter. Then we'll bring her back and try to figure out how to get her to go a mile and an eighth next year."

Four-time allowance winner Lady of Clare is the probable pacesetter, as she ships in for Michael Gorham. She has won 5 of 7 starts around two turns this season, all at Pimlico and Delaware Park, with an average margin of victory of better than five lengths.

The Todd Pletcher-trained Love Locket has been idle since finishing fifth in the Monmouth Breeders' Cup Oaks behind stablemate Mo Cuishle, who suffered her first defeat in last week's Top Flight Handicap. Love Locket has won three ungraded stakes, two of them - the Blue Hen and the Serena's Song - on sealed wet tracks.

Daytime Promise notched both of her wins on the inner track last winter at Thursday's distance, including the Busanda Stakes. She makes her second start off a layoff for Gary Contessa after running third in the sloppy, off-the-turf Rokeby Rose Stakes.

Diamond Spirit, trained by Allen Jerkens, has had a 52-day freshening since running fifth in the Pebbles Stakes, and makes her 15th start this year.