The field for the $125,000 Valdale Stakes is short, with just six 3-year-old fillies entered for the sprint. It could be spicy, with a couple of candidates to hook up on the lead. All but two of the entrants, Believe in Magic and Coco Connect, will be making their stakes debut, but shipper The Town Tempter has already shown the credentials to challenge. Believe in Magic had a solid 2-year-old campaign in turf sprints, finishing third in the Untapable at Kentucky Downs and second in the Stewart Manor at Aqueduct. In the latter, he was beaten just three-quarters of a length by undefeated Map of the Moon, who came back to win the Gowell at Turfway. Believe in Magic then moved from turf to Turfway’s Tapeta for an allowance victory, holding on after setting the pace. She has posted a Beyer Speed Figure of 77 in each of her last two starts, one of the top numbers in this field. Coco Connect was eighth in the Grade 2 Golden Rod last fall behind the promising Bella Ballerina while trying two turns on dirt. Cut back and moved to synthetic, she bounced back for an allowance win in January at Turfway. She used stalking tactics that day and is well drawn outside of Believe in Magic and the other speed for a similar trip. :: Access the most trusted data and information in horse racing! DRF Past Performances and Picks are available now. Five of the six fillies in this field, including the two stakes-experienced runners, are based in Kentucky, where training has been interrupted in recent weeks by a major winter storm and subsequent frigid temperatures. Believe in Magic posted her most recent breeze Jan. 23 at Turfway, where training was then canceled for more than a week, while Coco Connect breezed Jan. 22 at the Thoroughbred Training Center in Lexington. Most local horsemen, including William Morey, trainer of Believe in Magic, and John Ennis, trainer of Coco Connect, have been jogging horses in their shed rows to attempt to maintain fitness while snow and ice has remained on the ground. The Town Tempter, meanwhile, has been training at Fair Grounds, where she posted breezes on Jan. 24 and Jan. 30. Although many horsemen, including Ennis, have said that the lost training days are less consequential for sprinters than for horses coming back in a route, this filly could have a fitness edge as she makes her first start for Brendan Walsh after transferring from Chris Hartman. The Town Tempter was a rallying third in her debut, a maiden-claiming race on dirt. She then wired the field in back-to-back races, both turf sprints in which she also added Lasix, which she won’t race on in stakes company Saturday. In her most recent effort, an allowance win Jan. 3 at Fair Grounds, she earned a Beyer of 78, narrowly the best in this field. With Believe in Magic and The Town Tempter having potential to hook up on the lead, it not only would suit a stalking trip for Coco Connect, but could help out American Summer, stepping up off a debut win Jan. 15 at Turfway in which she rallied from off the pace. She earned a Beyer of 67 and will need to improve a bit to contend here. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.