St. Joe Bay stays in his comfort zone for Midnight Lute

In his first 18 starts, St. Joe Bay had sprinted and gone long, raced on dirt, synthetic, and turf, and never had topped a Beyer Speed Figure of 100. Yet last time out, he turned in unquestionably the best performance of his career, rolling to a 6 1/2-length victory at Del Mar and producing a 104 Beyer.

That was his first start ever at 6 1/2 furlongs on dirt. No reason to change a thing for his next start. On Saturday, St. Joe Bay returns at 6 1/2 furlongs, and if he runs back to his last race, he will be the one to beat in the Grade 3, $100,000 Midnight Lute Stakes, the first of three graded stakes to be run Saturday at Santa Anita.

St. Joe Bay had made his prior seven starts around two turns. Trainer Peter Miller on Thursday said he thought the turnback to a sprint “would help him, but I didn’t expect him to run that good.”

“We let him run out of there, and he seemed to like it,” Miller said. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

Only five older sprinters entered the Midnight Lute, and Miller has 40 percent of the field. He also sends out Solid Wager, who won the Cary Grant, for California-breds, at Del Mar for the second straight year last time out.

“I can’t say enough about him,” Miller said. “He fires every start.”

St. Joe Bay has sharp speed, while Solid Wager prefers to sit back and blast home.

“They have complementary styles,” Miller said. “One on the pace, the other can pick up the pieces if the race falls apart.”

Jimmy Bouncer, Navy Hymn, and Tough Sunday complete the field.

Owing to the small field, the Midnight Lute goes as race 3 on the nine-race card to keep it out of the pick six.

Midnight Lute, Race 3

KEY CONTENDERS

St. Joe Bay, by Saint Anddan

Last 3 Beyers: 104-95-86

◗ He showed keen speed from an inside draw last time and then pulled clear in an eye-catching effort, his second victory in four tries when partnered with Kent Desormeaux, who is back aboard Saturday.

“Kent’s got the gift on him,” Miller said.

◗ His last race “was the first time he really put it together,” said Miller, who added, “Hopefully, he can continue in that vein.”

Solid Wager, by Birdonthewire

Last 3 Beyers: 94-90-91

◗ Although his two stakes wins have been at Del Mar, he has done just fine at Santa Anita, where he has won four times in 14 starts and has finished in the money eight times. The potential hot pace would be to his advantage.

Jimmy Bouncer, by Square Eddie

Last 3 Beyers: 93-84-94

◗ Equally effective sprinting on turf or dirt, he is 2 for 2 on the Santa Anita main track and figures to vie with St. Joe Bay and Navy Hymn for the early lead.

Navy Hymn, by Songandaprayer

Last 3 Beyers: 88-91-98

◗ He too likes to roll from the start, and he is 5 for 7 at Santa Anita.

Tough Sunday, by Grazen

Last 3 Beyers: 99-90-85

◗ He has been idle for three months since earning a career-best figure beating allowance company at Los Alamitos.