Laura's Light facing eight in Santa Anita's Honeymoon Stakes
In what appears to be a standout betting race, Gary Barber’s well-accomplished Laura’s Light heads a field of nine sophomore fillies going a mile and an eighth on turf in Saturday’s Grade 3, $100,000 Honeymoon Stakes at Santa Anita Park.
Hronis Racing’s Stela Star, a big second in her U.S. debut here on March 7, and LNJ Foxwoods’ Parkour both figure to provide stiff competition in the race named for movie mogul Louis B. Mayer’s brilliant California-bred filly Honeymoon, who won seven stakes in California in 1946.
Here's a look at the field for Race 7 of 9 with approximate post time 6:30 p.m. ET.
Laura's Light (Owner: Gary Barber / Trainer: Peter Miller)
Favored in four out of her five starts and a two-time Santa Anita turf stakes winner, this filly by Constitution was attentive to the pace en route to a three-quarter length win in the Grade 3 Sweet Life Stakes going 5 1/2 furlongs on turf her two starts back on Feb. 16 as the odds-on favorite. Subsequently well beaten as the favorite in a one-mile ungraded stakes over a synthetic surface at Turfway Park on March 14, she’ll ship in to run on Saturday from her San Luis Rey Downs Training Center base. A 3 1/4-length winner of the one-mile turf Blue Norther Stakes three starts back on Dec. 29, Laura’s Light has three wins from five starts and looms the horse to beat in the Honeymoon.
Stela Star (Owner: Hronis Racing, LLC / Trainer: John Sadler)
A Group 3 winner of a seven-furlong turf stakes two starts back in her native Ireland, Stela Star ran a tremendous race in defeat in her U.S. debut, rallying from far back to finish second, beaten a half length by multiple stakes winner Warren’s Showtime in the China Doll Stakes going one mile on the turf March 7. She has continued to train well on Santa Anita’s inner dirt training track and with leading man Flavien Prat taking over on Saturday, look for Stela Star to run huge in her second start for Sadler.
Parkour (Owner: LNJ Foxwoods / Trainer: Richard Mandella)
A Kentucky-bred filly by Carpe Diem, she exits a runaway 3 1/4-length allowance win going a mile on turf here March 20 when ridden for the first time by Mike Smith, who will rider her back on Saturday. Fourth, beaten 3 3/4 lengths by Laura’s Light two starts back in the one-mile Blue Norther on Dec. 29, she was an impressive gate-to-wire maiden winner going one mile on the Del Mar turf three starts back on Dec. 1. Winless in her first two races sprinting on dirt this past fall, Parkour has now won two out of her three tries on grass and will hope to slow the pace down on Saturday as she stretches out an eighth of a mile.