ARCADIA, Calif. – Kinza is a dangerous filly. Rivals that have attempted to run with Kinza in her brief career have failed to keep pace. When allowed to lead, Kinza pulls away. Undefeated in three starts, Kinza will be a heavy favorite to win her third stakes in the Grade 2 Santa Anita Oaks at 1 1/16 miles for 3-year-old fillies at Santa Anita on Saturday. Juan Hernandez, the leading rider at Santa Anita this year, has been aboard Kinza for wins in a maiden race at six furlongs on Dec. 29, the Grade 3 Las Virgenes Stakes at a mile on Feb. 10, and a comprehensive victory by five lengths in the Grade 3 Santa Ysabel Stakes at 1 1/16 miles on March 9. All three starts earned Beyer Speed Figures in the 90s, a threshold that none of the other four horses in the Santa Anita Oaks has crossed. Each time, Hernandez has been left impressed with Kinza’s effort, particularly in the Santa Ysabel. “She showed up last time,” he said. “She showed that she’s a good filly. She didn’t stop. The other filly that went with her kind of stopped.” Kinza races for Michael Lund Petersen and trainer Bob Baffert. The $300,000 Santa Anita Oaks, is the sixth race on a 12-race program that begins at noon Pacific. Kopion, second by two lengths to Kinza in the Las Virgenes, rates as the biggest threat. Corposo will have her stakes debut after a win in a maiden race at a mile in her second start on March 8. The Baffert-trained Nothing Like You, who won the Grade 2 Starlet Stakes at Los Alamitos in December, will have her second start of the year after finishing a well-beaten fourth in the Las Virgenes. Ifuaintfirsturlast was pulled up in the stretch of the Santa Ysabel and will be a longshot. She worked five furlongs in late March, her lone workout since the Santa Ysabel. Kopion, the winner of the Grade 3 Santa Ynez Stakes at seven furlongs on Jan. 7, has not raced since the Las Virgenes. A few weeks after that race, trainer Richard Mandella said Kopion would skip the Santa Ysabel in favor of Saturday’s race. :: Access morning workout reports straight from the tracks and get an edge with DRF Clocker Reports Through March, Kopion had three sharp six-furlong workouts. Mandella envisions Kopion being near the front. “She’s growing into a beautiful filly,” he said. “I’m hoping she’ll rise to the occasion. She’s pretty fresh and she’s got good speed.” Kopion tracked Kinza in the Las Virgenes, but failed to keep pace through the final furlong. Corposo, who has the outside post in the Santa Anita Oaks, is expected to race as a stalker. She won a maiden race with that style. Despite a lack of experience, trainer Peter Eurton has watched Corposo handle racing with minimal difficulty. “She’s got a great mind and nothing bothers her,” he said. “She’s a very stable-minded filly.” All of that may only translate to a second or third behind Kinza, if the favorite runs to Hernandez’s expectations. “I think she’ll be the filly to beat,” Hernandez said. “I want to play the break. She has natural speed. If someone wants to go crazy, I’ll run my race and see if she can rate a little bit.” The Oaks will offer 200 qualifying points for the May 3 Kentucky Oaks to the five finishers on a scale of 100-50-25-15-10. Kinza and Nothing Like You will be ineligible to earn points since they are trained by Baffert, whose horses are ineligible to race at Churchill Downs due to a ban imposed by the track in the aftermath of drug positives in the 2020 Kentucky Oaks and 2021 Kentucky Derby. The points that Kinza and Nothing Like You would have earned will go unclaimed. :: Bet the races with a $200 First Deposit Match + FREE All Access PPs! Join DRF Bets.