Win proving elusive of late for filly

ALBANY, Calif. - Saturday's Golden Gate Fields card offers a bettor's dream, with nine races averaging better than 11 horses each.

Although no stakes are scheduled this weekend, deep races, including the first Golden Gate turf race of 2008, should provide bettors with plenty of action.

Most races seem to be wide open, but there is a heavy favorite in the feature, a $25,000 optional claimer at one mile over the Tapeta for fillies and mares. A P Charlie looks a standout in the race for high-percentage trainer Billy Morey and leading rider Russell Baze.

A 4-year-old filly, she has been first or second in her last six starts, including second-place finishes in her last three, all allowance races here. Before those races, she won two straight claimers in Southern California.

The low odds and second-place finishes may cause some bettors to look for ways to beat her, and they have several choices.

Katherine R.N. is stepping up off a Nov. 14 maiden claiming win, while Cajun Monarch just won a $25,000 claimer at Hollywood Park on Nov. 11. With the layoffs, condition is a question with both.

Mamita Chula, an earner of $197,972 who has hit the board in 22 of 33 starts, drops a notch off a solid third in her first try over Tapeta on Dec. 13.

Home Ice returned from a nine-week layoff with a pair of fourths at this level.

Eleven runners will try to graduate on grass in a $20,000 maiden claimer at one mile, the first turf race here since Dec. 26.

Idle Chatter, a runner-up in both career starts, makes his debut on grass with a high turf Tomlinson rating. Cool Hand Lucca, City Blend, and Killer Bee each has shown ability on the turf.

A talented 4-year-old, High Solids, makes his debut in a six-furlong maiden race. A full brother of multiple stakes winner High Standards, High Solids has an eye-popping 1:11.80 six-furlong bullet among his recent works.

Mr. Logan, a Southern California-based comebacker, was runner-up in two starts sprinting down the Santa Anita hillside turf course last year and hasn't run in nearly 10 months.

Another Southern California invader, Tote's Humdinger, returned from 13 months on the sidelines to be a solid third at Hollywood Park last fall. He faded badly in a Dec. 28 turf route at Santa Anita but could bounce back with a return to a dirt sprint.