Saturday’s national stakes schedule is not exactly an embarrassment of riches. There is the Grade 2, $200,000 Buena Vista at Santa Anita and the Grade 3, $100,000 Hal’s Hope at Gulfstream. Otherwise . . . well, there’s always next week. Buena Vista Stakes Vasilika has been an absolute win machine since moving into Jerry Hollendorfer’s barn off a $40,000 claim just more than one year ago. She has since scored in 9 of 11 starts, including the Grade 1 Rodeo Drive, the Grade 2 John C. Mabee, the Grade 2 Goldikova, and the Grade 3 Megahertz most recently. The Megahertz was a particularly good effort. Vasilika drew away strongly late despite getting caught four wide on the far turn when rallying, mastering three of the nine opponents she faces Saturday. To say Vasilika is the one to beat here would be an understatement. She is a very likely winner at a very short price. Usually, the Warrior tries to avoid races with heavy favorites who look like extremely likely winners. Yet this race appears here because this week, there simply aren’t any other options of national interest. That said, I’ll try to make a case for Take These Chains to upset. Take These Chains showed real potential winning the first three starts of her career decisively, one at Gulfstream and two at Belmont. But something obviously went wrong when she failed at odds-on in her stakes debut, the 2017 Intercontinental, as she did not race again for 17 months. To her credit, Take These Chains returned in smashing style last fall, dominating an overnight race at Churchill Downs. That made her the strong favorite last time in the Blushing K. D. Stakes, but after pulling an outside trip, she faded after contesting the pace and finished sixth. The interesting thing about Take These Chains is, while she showed speed in both of her comeback outings, the closing style she employed in her first three wins suggests that is her most effective approach. Between Fahan Mura and Ms Bad Behavior, the pace in this spot should be strong. That would allow Take These Chains to revert to her old closing style, which might enable a stakes breakthrough for her. Hal’s Hope Stakes Quip, winner of the Tampa Bay Derby and runner-up in the Arkansas Derby last year, was scratched from last week’s Mineshaft at Fair Grounds in favor of this assignment, his first since a forgettable outing in the Preakness. But to me, this race is all about Copper Town, who might actually be a palatable price Saturday off his last two starts, which look ugly on paper. Copper Town’s last two running lines might not be pretty, but both races are actually absolute throw-outs. Two starts back, Copper Town made his stakes debut in the Grade 1 Cigar Mile and, though he finished last of eight, the race was over for him right out of the gate due to a rough start. Most recently, Copper Town competed in the Fred W. Hooper Stakes and finished a distant seventh of eight. But again, he had major trouble at the gate. Copper Town reared up badly in the gate before the start, and it was a surprise to many that he wasn’t even backed out to be examined before the latch was sprung. So, he gets a pass for that start, too. Copper Town showed lots of ability early in his still-brief career. He crushed Backyard Heaven when he recorded his maiden victory, and Backyard Heaven came back to win his next three starts, including the Alysheba Stakes, posting Beyer Speed Figures of 105 and 108 along the way. And Copper Town followed with a romping allowance win over Patternrecognition, who came back to win four of his next six starts, all with triple-digit Beyers, including the Kelso Stakes and the Cigar Mile that Copper Town had trouble in. If he hasn’t developed a hatred for the gate, Copper Town projects to be the controlling speed and can boss this group. Texas Glitter Stakes This is one of two undercard stakes at Gulfstream, and Yes I Am Free and Standup are the two main players after finishing one-two in their debuts in a turf sprint over the course last month. Yes I Am Free edged Standup after disputing the pace, but I’m looking for Standup to turn the tables. Standup was way back early and surged late. My hope is now, with experience, Standup will be more into it early and get there this time.