It’s time for the $200,000 Starlet Stakes (G2) at Los Alamitos, and that means deciding whether Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert will extend his winning streak to seven Starlets in a row.
A field of six 2-year-old fillies is entered for Saturday’s 10th edition of the Starlet, formerly known as the Hollywood Starlet from 1981-2013 when run at Hollywood Park.
The 1 1/16-mile race is a Kentucky Oaks (G1) points qualifier with 10 points to the winner, and 5-3-2-1 to the next four finishers. The Starlet was one of six races downgraded from Grade 1 status by the American Graded Stakes Committee in 2023.
Starlet Stakes Preview: Nothing Like You, Grazia, and Chatalas
Baffert sends out Nothing Like You, the 9-5 favorite, and Grazia, the 5-2 third choice. Both are ineligible for points due to the extended ban of the trainer from Churchill Downs.
Nonetheless, that won’t stand in the way of trying to cash a nice ticket in the ninth and final race on the card. Post time for the Starlet is 7:28 p.m. ET.
Nothing Like You, a daughter of Malibu Moon, brings a two-race winning streak into the Starlet – a 6 ½-length maiden win in her fourth career start on Oct. 14, and a narrow win over Tambo in the Desi Arnaz five weeks later at Del Mar.
Grazia, an Uncle Mo filly has a debut victory at six furlongs on her resume.
Chatalas (the 2-1 second choice), though, may be the filly to beat. The daughter of Gun Runner, trained by Mark Glatt, comes into the Starlet having won the Chandelier (G2) a Santa Anita on Oct. 7 before running ninth in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) on Nov. 3. In the Juvenile Fillies, she was jostled hard between horses at the start and was never a factor.
The picks: 1 Chatalas 2 Grazia 3 Flynn’s Choice
The field for the $200,000 Starlet (G2), from the rail out, with jockey, trainer, odds:
1 Nothing Like You (Juan Hernandez, Bob Baffert), 9-5
2 Pacific Rose (Joel Rosario, Doug O’Neill), 15-1
3 Flynn’s Choice (Umberto Rispoli, Richard Mandella), 8-1
4 Great Forty Eight (J G Torrealba, Tim Yakteen), 8-1
5 Chatalas (Antonio Fresu, Mark Glatt), 2-1
6 Grazia (Flavien Prat, Bob Baffert), 5-2
The writing team at US Racing is comprised of both full-time and part-time contributors with expertise in various aspects of the Sport of Kings.
