Selcourt will be hard to catch in Angels Flight

ARCADIA, Calif. – Selcourt, favored in the Angels Flight Stakes on Sunday at Santa Anita, is an easy read. What you see is what you get.

Selcourt is fast, as in 21-and-change, 44-and-change fast. She should be long gone Sunday while stretching out to seven furlongs.

“I think she’ll be fine with the distance,” trainer John Sadler said.”She’s just an easy-running filly. The plan is to run her two turns after this anyway.”

Noted and Quoted, the likely second choice, is less clear. She won the Grade 1 Chandelier last year but bombed in her first start this year when she was eased in the Sunland Park Oaks.

“She had a legitimate excuse,” trainer Bob Baffert said. “She came back coughing. She had a lot of green mucus. We cleared her up, and since then, she’s been training really well.”

What remains unclear is if Noted and Quoted is fast enough to catch Selcourt when they meet for the first time in the $75,000 Angels Flight for 3-year-old fillies.

Selcourt has started twice. She won her debut in a landslide and then finished second going 6 1/2 furlongs in the Santa Paula Stakes after dueling through blazing fractions.

“It took a Grade 1 winner to beat her,” Sadler said, referring to Del Mar Debutante winner Union Strike. “That filly came back and justified her form at Churchill Downs.”

Union Strike subsequently finished second in the Grade 2 Eight Belles.

After Sunday’s race, Sadler plans to run Selcourt at 1 1/16 miles in the Grade 2 Summertime Oaks on June 17.

Angels Flight, Race 7

KEY CONTENDERS

Selcourt, by Tiz Wonderful

Beyers: 87-85

◗ Selcourt put away a good filly last out. Chalon, the only horse to defeat Unique Bella, returned to win an allowance race last weekend.

Noted and Quoted, by The Factor

Last 3 Beyers: 0-62-80

◗ Noted and Quoted won the Chandelier last fall and was seventh in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies. She will be ridden by Martin Garcia.

“She’s back to her old self,” Baffert said. “I think [one turn] is better for her.”

Faypien, by Ghostzapper

Beyers: 87-67

◗ The speed figure Faypien earned in winning a maiden race last out matches Selcourt’s most recent figure.

◗ Faypien “was a last-minute entry,” Baffert said. “The field was coming up short, and I thought if she draws well, I might leave her in there. She drew well.”