Silent Saga Should Improve in Oak Leaf

Silent Saga was beaten 3 ½ lengths by victorious Weemissfrankie in the Grade I Del Mar Debutante on Sept. 3, but Victor Espinoza, who has ridden the 2-year-old filly in each of her three starts and who rides again in Sunday’s Grade I Oak Leaf Stakes, expects her to rebound.

“She was a little bit flat in the Debutante,” Espinoza said. “Still, she didn’t run too bad, but I expected her to run better than she did. I don’t know what happened. Maybe it was a little too soon between races (Silent Saga broke her maiden by 3 ¼ lengths less than three weeks earlier, on Aug. 14). Plus, she’s a filly, and most of the time fillies are a little bit sensitive at that point.

“But now I think she’s had plenty of time (between races) and I also think she’ll like the distance. I think she’ll run well.”

Owned, bred and trained by Myung Kwon Cho, Silent Saga is a bay daughter of Silent Name who breaks from the rail against nine other rivals in the Oak Leaf, which will be decided at 1 1/16 miles.

The Oak Leaf field: Silent Saga, Victor Espinoza; Self Preservation, Patrick Valenzuela; Killer Graces, Joe Talamo; Candrea, Martin Garcia; My Gi Gi, Chantal Sutherland; Wild Truffles, Alonso Quinonez; Regal Betty, Joel Rosario; Weemissfrankie, Rafael Bejarano; Dreamcaster, Martin Pedroza; and Charm the Maker, Garrett Gomez.