Sunday’s feature at Santa Anita, the G3 Wilshire Stakes, brings together a host of distaffers with something to prove, with Canoodling – the sole winner at this level – taking on stakes winners Keyflower, England’s Rose and Eddie’s New Dream in a contest that could be as tightly contested as the morning-line suggests.
Wilshire Stakes
Grade 3, $100,000, 1m turf, 3yo+ fillies/mares
What the Wilshire Stakes lacks in stand-out class it more than makes up for in deep competition, with seven of the ten runners – Bye Bye Bertie has been scratched – between 7-2 and 6-1 on the morning-line.
The marginal favourite is Javanica, solely on the basis of her last-time-out performance when runner-up in the G2 Royal Heroine over course and distance, setting the fractions until giving way to the high-class Going Global and coming home a length and three-quarters adrift. That was probably a lifetime best, but she is hardly a safe proposition with a two-for-14 record, zero-for-nine in stakes.
The only one with a Graded score to her name is Canoodling , who broke through as a longshot in the G3 Megahertz over course and distance when going gate to wire, holding on bravely as it became a blanket finish to get there by a half-length. She could never get competitive when fifth in the G2 Buena Vista over course and distance on her most recent start, but this is somewhat easier.
French stakes-winner Keyflower couldn’t overcome a slow start when fifth in the G3 Santa Ana here over ten furlongs – Carpe Vinum five lengths behind in sixth, Quiet Secretary a long last of eight – but she should appreciate the drop in distance, having won an allowance optional claimer over course and distance on her previous start.
Neil Drysdale has won this race twice in the last three years and sends Miss Dracarys, who produced a promising effort when third in a stakes at Aqueduct over a mile-sixteenth behind recent stakes winner Plum Ali, although she has a five-month layoff to overcome. Amy C – barnmate of Carpe Vinum – has been off for even longer, it being eight months since she ran a slightly flat fifth in a stakes over course and distance.
The lightly raced England’s Rose won a stakes over course and distance in October but has found G3 company too hot on her last two starts and may need an easier spot, while Eddie’s New Dream has shown improvement for being sent sprinting, getting the job done in a stakes here over six and a half furlongs last time, although she needed every yard to steal it by a nose and may be happy to stretch back out again, having won over a mile-sixteenth at Del Mar in November.
Stella Noir, runner-up in a stakes here over six and a half furlongs, was not disgraced when third behind Park Avenue – runs in Saturday’s G2 Santa Margarita – in an allowance optional claimer here over a mile-eighth, and the drop in distance could help.
| Horse | Jockey | Horse Racing Odds courtesy of JazzSports |
| Amy C | Ryan Curatolo | +600 |
| Javanica | Joe Bravo | +350 |
| Canoodling | Juan J. Hernandez | +450 |
| Quiet Secretary | Tyler Baze | +2000 |
| Keyflower | Abel Cedillo | +600 |
| Stella Noir | Drayden Van Dyke | +1500 |
| Carpe Vinum | Ramon A. Vazquez | +1500 |
| Eddie’s New Dream | Mario Gutierrez | +600 |
| Miss Dracarys | Mike E. Smith | +525 |
| England’s Ros | Victor Espinoza | +625 |
Our Wilshire Stakes Betting Prediction
There are several with a good chance, but KEYFLOWER can be forgiven her recent defeat after a slow start and the ex-French filly is the choice now dropped to a more suitable distance.
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