Harvest Moon drops into maiden

A class drop that seldom occurs in a maiden special weight and an ordinary beaten favorite in an allowance sprint are key handicapping concerns Friday at Los Alamitos.

Harvest Moon is the 8-5 favorite to win the race-3 maiden route based on her unconventional debut. Rather than make her first start against maidens, Harvest Moon faced allowance winners. She finished third in the small field and drops Friday into a maiden race.

Ava’s Charm is favored in race 6, despite fading in both her previous entry-level allowance starts. She benefits by the shorter six-furlong distance and an outside post. Ava’s Charm is listed at 2-1 by linemaker Ed Burgart.

Los Alamitos carded seven races Friday, and one of the most heavily favored runners also is one of the best bred. Harvest Moon is by Uncle Mo and produced by Qaraaba, who was a 5-year-old when she won the Grade 3 Robert J. Frankel in 2012 at Santa Anita for trainer Simon Callaghan, who also trains Harvest Moon.

“It’s a very late-maturing family, so we’ve been patient,” Callaghan said. “She’s shown talent, she just needed time to mature.”

The 3-year-old finally was ready this spring, but a maiden turf route scheduled for June 7 did not fill, and plans changed for Harvest Moon.

“We wanted to go long first time, and we wanted to go turf,” Callaghan said. “When the turf maiden didn’t go, and the prospect of waiting until Del Mar, I just thought as a starting point I’d get a race into her.”

Harvest Moon entered an allowance turf mile, and ran well. She was keen early at the back of the small field, rallied inside on the far turn, split rivals in the stretch, and finished third by less than three lengths. Callaghan got what he wanted – a solid debut prep.

The switch to dirt is not a worry. Turf horses frequently transition to the Los Al main track, and Callaghan said her pedigree supports the move. “Her dam was a very good turf filly, but if she hadn’t gotten hurt, probably would have run on dirt. She used to train great on it.”

Flavien Prat will ride Harvest Moon; Drayden Van Dyke picks up the mount on 2-1 second choice My Happy Girl.

Race-6 favorite Ava’s Charm was chewed up on a fast pace in both recent starts at 6 1/2 furlongs. Freshened since February, shortening to six furlongs, and drawn outside, she figures for a front-running/ pace-pressing trip under Van Dyke for Bob Baffert.

Others in the field include speedster Biddy Duke, off-the-pace contender Into the South, stakes-placed comebacker Hotitude, and lightly raced Mean Sophia.