Santa Anita: Sadler unworried about slow start to meet

Through Sunday, John Sadler had 5 wins from 51 starters at the current meeting, leaving him tied for eighth in the trainer standings behind leader Bob Baffert with 15 wins.

For Sadler, a contender for the training title, the results are not a surprise.

“I thought we’d get off to a slow start,” he said. “We sent a lot of horses home. We have a lot coming back in.

“I thought it would be quiet at the beginning of the year. There is no panic at this point.”

The stable lost the stakes runners Kettle Corn and Lady of Shamrock to retirement, to name two.

Friday, Sadler runs the 3-year-old filly Koukla in a $58,000 allowance race for 3-year-old fillies over a mile on turf.

Owned by Hronis, Koukla won her debut in a maiden race over six furlongs on the synthetic track at Hollywood Park on Dec. 22.

“I was hoping to run her on dirt, but the race didn’t fill,” Sadler said. “This is what filled. I think she’s a nice filly.”

Koukla is part of a field of seven that includes Sheza Smoke Show, a maiden race winner on the hillside turf course Jan. 4 for trainer Peter Eurton; and Senza Fina, who has won her last two starts on dirt and synthetic tracks for trainer Mark Glatt.

Eight probable for Las Virgenes

The Arcadia Stakes is the supporting feature on a Saturday program highlighted by the $300,000 Las Virgenes Stakes over a mile for 3-year-old fillies.

Streaming, the unbeaten winner of the Grade 1 Hollywood Starlet at Hollywood Park on Dec. 14, will be favored in the Grade 1 Las Virgenes, which has a field of eight projected starters. The other runners are Arethusa, Artemis, Earthflight, Fashion Plate, Saintly Joan, Sushi Empire, and Taste Like Candy.

The field has two other stakes winners, both trained by Eoin Harty. Arethusa won the Sharp Cat Stakes at Hollywood Park in November, while Sushi Empire won the Blue Norther Stakes on turf here Jan. 1.

The most prolific winner in the field is Earthflight, who won three minor races in England last year. Earthflight, who makes her American debut in the Las Virgenes for trainer Darrell Vienna, won two races in a six-day span at Wolverhampton, England, last November.