OCEANPORT, N.J. – Saintly Joan made a smooth west-to-east transition, winning Monmouth Park’s off-the-turf Little Silver Stakes last month. She gets her first crack at the local grass course Saturday in the $60,000 Desert Vixen Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at 1 1/16 miles. With fair weather in the forecast, this contest should remain on turf. And it’s a good one, with a full field of 11, two also-eligibles, and one main-track-only entrant. Todd Pletcher entered three: Patsy’s Holiday, Super Sky, and Our Amazing Rose. Graham Motion sends up two from the Fair Hill Training Center in Maryland: Charm City Girl and Jane Peterson. The race serves as a prep for the Grade 3 Boiling Springs here Aug. 30. Saintly Joan has a closer objective. Trainer Pat McBurney plans to use this grass stakes as a springboard into the Grade 3 Monmouth Oaks on the main track Aug. 9. “She has handled grass on the West Coast,” McBurney said. “It seems like she is as fast on dirt as turf. If she holds her form out here, we’ll be in real good shape.” Desert Vixen Stakes (race 11) KEY CONTENDERS SAINTLY JOAN (Last 3 Beyers: 76-70-79) ◗ Won the rained-off Little Silver Stakes with a determined stretch rally as the 9-5 favorite. She’s had three half-mile breezes since then. “She’s coming up to this fantastic,” McBurney said. “We couldn’t be happier with her.” ◗ This will be her seventh stakes appearance in 10 starts. She has tackled tough company, including Santa Anita Oaks winner Fashion Plate in the Grade 1 Las Virgenes on the main track. JANE PETERSON (Last 3 Beyers: 66-72-74) ◗ Ran well in all three grass races, including her maiden victory at Keeneland in April. Hit the main track for the next two, a first-level allowance win in the slop at Churchill Downs and a fifth-place finish in the Our Mims Stakes at Delaware Park. ◗ Kendrick Carmouche rides for the first time, a switch that could pay off. The Carmouche-Motion tandem has won at a 26 percent clip over the last two seasons, with a very healthy $3.06 return on investment. DANALIN (Last 3 Beyers: 77-70-73) ◗ Picked up her game after coming north from Florida and stretching out for trainer Eddie Plesa Jr. She was second in her Monmouth debut before dropping to fourth on a disqualification. She bounced back with a pacesetting win and should again play that role from the rail.