Starlet Stakes (Los Alamitos): Bob Baffert in Search of His Sixth Straight Win in This Race

Starlet Stakes Odds and Post Position

Check out our predictions and odds for the Starlet Stakes at Los Alamitos!

*Odds provided by author Brian Zipse.

Starlet Stakes Predictions and Best Bets

Here are my plays ($60 in total)

$10 Trifecta Part Wheel - Faiza and Uncontrollable over Faiza and Uncontrollable over Blessed Touch, Pride of the Nile and Doinitthehardway = $60

If you're playing only to win, go with my top pick Uncontrollable (4/1).    

Trainer Bob Baffert will be in search of his sixth straight win in this race and ninth overall when he sends out a trio of juvenile fillies in Saturday’s Grade 1 Starlet Stakes at Los Alamitos. 

Leading the way will be Faiza. A daughter of Girvin, she was supplemented for $10,000 to the $300,000 feature. In her only career start, she was an impressive winner last month at Del Mar.

While the Hall of Fame trainer will send out two more young fillies in the 1 1/16-mile affair, Faiza’s most serious challenges may come from outside the powerhouse stable. 

Both Blessed Touch and Uncontrollable come into the Starlet off solid runner-up performances against good stakes competition. 

Also a daughter of Girvin, Blessed Touch broke her maiden at Santa Anita by nearly nine lengths in her second career start. 

Off that romp, the Tim Yakteen-trained filly was well-backed three weeks ago in the Desi Arnaz Stakes at Del Mar, but could not hold off the late run of the highly regarded Justique. Second, she was well clear of the rest. 

Uncontrollable was a rallying, first-out winner against fellow California state-breds in a July debut. 

Since then the Upstart filly has come from well back to finish second in a pair of stakes races, including the Grade 2 Chandelier last out at Santa Anita.

Starlet Stakes Predictions and Race Analysis

Faiza

Purchased for $725,000 at a 2-year-old in training sale in May, this daughter of Girvin ran to her price tag with a good-liking debut performance at Del Mar four weeks ago. That performance was flattered when the runner-up came back to win nicely next out. 

From a talent perspective this one does look like the filly with the potential to go on to big things, but from an experience perspective, she is lacking compared to every other filly in the field. There is also a fair amount of early speed in here to press her as she stretches out in distance. 

It may not matter if she proves as talented as she looked against maidens, but as a heavy favorite, I do think it is worth it to take at least a small shot to beat her.

Blessed Touch

Another filly with good early speed, this daughter of Girvin has been sharp sprinting in her first three starts. A romping winner of a Santa Anita maiden race two starts back, she came home second best last time in the Desi Arnaz at Del Mar, which was her stakes debut. 

On Saturday, she will need to prove that she can carry her success around two turns, but that task likely becomes more difficult with the other speed in the race. 

Her last two efforts point out that she has the talent to run with these fillies, but I’m just not sure that his race sets up well for her. Still, respect must be given to her as a stakes experienced filly.

Uncontrollable

Trained by Michael McCarthy, this Upstart filly has shown no early speed in her first three career races, but has rallied nicely each time. That could be an advantage in a race that looks to have plenty of early speed. 

After two strong rallies to win a maiden race and then run second in the Generous Portion Stakes, both while sprinting at Del Mar, she proved she is not a one-trick pony last time by stretching out for the 1 1/16-mile Chandelier Stakes (G2) at Santa Anita. 

Her good second-place finish there demonstrates that she can handle the distance of the Starlet. She is the top pick to pull off a mild surprise on Saturday.

Pride of the Nile

This daughter of Pioneerof the Nile has only run on the grass so far in her three-race career. Entered in a stakes race in her career debut, she came running late to grab fourth there in a solid performance. 

She’s looked good in winning a maiden and then an allowance, both at a mile, in her next two. Distance will not be a problem on Saturday, provided that she can switch surfaces successfully. 

Given her good workouts, as well as her pedigree, she should be able to handle the dirt. An interesting alternative to the top three, she cannot be discounted here.

Doinitthehardway

The second of the Baffert-trained trio, this Street Sense filly will break from the rail on Saturday. Beaten by Fast and Shiny in both fillies’ debut back in August, she remains a maiden after three career starts. 

She has finished in the money each time and ran a solid race last out when second in a Del Mar maiden two weeks ago. She was much the best of the rest that afternoon in what was her longest and best race to date. 

It’s always tough to pick a maiden in a graded stakes race, but she did show enough in the last one to believe she is on the right track and getting better.

Fast and Shiny

A debut winner going five furlongs this summer, she has shown speed in each of her next three races, but has been unable to stick around when the real running commenced. 

Having run decently well on turf in each of the last two, she’ll need to show improvement on the switch back to dirt. Unfortunately, her stakes attempt on that surface three starts back was not promising.

Of the Baffert runners, I like her the least, but the daughter of Bernardini should be out there contesting the lead early.

Classymademoiselle

Awarded first-place money two starts back for her only victory in six career starts, this Malibu Moon looks to be the longshot of the field. 

In her only stakes start, she was well beaten in the Grade 2 Sorrento Stakes three starts back. After being awarded the win in a Del Mar maiden race, she came back to finish well back in a turf allowance last out.

I find her hard to recommend against this field.

How to Watch the Starlet Stakes

Starlet Stakes Race Information

• What: Starlet Stakes (Grade 1)

• Location: Los Alamitos

• Time: Saturday, December 10 -- 7:30 pm Eastern time

• How to Watch: FanDuel TV