Stockton: Bleach Blonde faces familiar rivals in Harvest

Saturday’s running of the $50,000-added Harvest Stakes at the San Joaquin Fair in Stockton will match the now horse, the defending champ, and the had-her-prep horse. The six-furlong sprint for fillies and mares attracted a full field of 10.

The now horse is Bleach Blonde, who scored a four-length victory when running against five of Saturday’s rivals in a six-furlong allowance race at Golden Gate Fields on Sept. 8. It was only her second try at six furlongs in 36 career starts.

Trainer Lloyd Mason plans to run Bleach Blonde in the California Cup Distaff in October and hadn’t originally considered running her in the Harvest.

“She won that race going short, and it didn’t take anything out of her,” said Mason, who trains the 5-year-old homebred mare for his son Brett.

The defending champion is Special Holiday, who won this race when it was called the Pink Ribbon Stakes last summer. She stalked the pace in that win and pulled clear by 2 1/2 lengths. Special Holiday ran third in a pair of Emerald Downs stakes earlier this year and comes off a second to Bleach Blonde in her first start in six weeks.

The had-her-prep horse is the Jerry Hollendorfer-trained Lady of Fifty, a 3-year-old who won three straight stakes last winter at Golden Gate Fields, capped by a 3 1/4-length score in the California Oaks in January. Off for six months, she ran third behind Bleach Blonde and Special Holiday in her return, which was her first start against older fillies and mares. She broke in the air and was part of a three-way pace duel before fading in the lane.

Lady of Fifty will be ridden by Julien Couton for the second straight race. Couton finished second to Russell Baze in the jockey standings at the recently concluded Golden Gate Fields summer meet.

Baze will ride the improving Sister Kate, who has hit the board in seven of eight career starts, including a third in the $125,000 B. Thoughtful in her stakes debut, which came in the spring at Betfair Hollywood Park.

English Royal was the odds-on favorite in the Sept. 8 allowance race. She was on or near the lead for most of the race and tired to finish fourth. English Royal came into the race off an allowance victory at Santa Rosa and before that ran second on the California State Fair Sprint at Sacramento.

Hennessy River is the lone also-eligible, although she may get into the race. Advance Ticket might be scratched from the Harvest and pointed to the California Cup Distaff, trainer Dennis Patterson said.