Street Lights aiming for bigger things

ARCADIA, Calif. - Street Lights ran second to stablemate Spot the Diplomat in the I'm Smokin Stakes for California-breds at Del Mar last month. Fortunately for Street Lights, Spot the Diplomat has moved on to the graded stakes level, finishing third in the Grade 2 Norfolk Stakes at the Oak Tree at Santa Anita meeting on Sunday.

Street Lights could make a stakes appearance later this month, pending his results in a $50,000 allowance race for statebred 2-year-olds on Wednesday at Santa Anita.

The race is a substitute for the $65,000 Cavonnier Stakes, which was scheduled for Monday. The race was canceled after it drew only three entries.

Trainer Carla Gaines had intended to start Street Lights in the Cavonnier. She envisions Wednesday's race as a prep to the $125,000 California Cup Juvenile here on Oct. 28.

"I was hoping there would be a prep race since the stakes didn't go," Gaines said.

Owned by Harris Farms, Street Lights is off to a promising start. He has one victory in two starts, in a maiden race at 5 1/2 furlongs at Del Mar on Aug. 19. In the I'm Smokin Stakes at six furlongs, Street Lights was second throughout, finishing 2 3/4 lengths behind Spot the Diplomat, also trained by Gaines.

"That was a tough situation; you want both of them to win," Gaines said. "The main thing that frightened me is the two of them going head and head, because Street Lights has good speed."

Street Lights has drawn post 5 in Wednesday's race. He could be near the front, along with Turquoise N Gold, who beat maidens here on Sept. 30, and Super Image.

The race has a field of six from throughout the state. Super Image and Gary John were the first- and third-place finishers in the Cavonnier Juvenile Stakes at the Sonoma County Fair in Santa Rosa in August.

In the seventh race, Set Alight, a stakes winner in France last year, makes his California debut in an optional claimer at a mile on turf.

Trained by Bobby Frankel, Set Alight hasn't started since finishing 13th in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile at Belmont Park last October. Set Alight was scratched from Monday's War Chant Stakes to race on Wednesday.

Set Alight is part of a field seven and must beat the Golden Gate Fields stakes winner Cummiskey as well as Running Free, a stakes winner at Hollywood Park and Del Mar in 2005. Running Free is entered for a $100,000 claiming price.