First Star Invades From Southern California for Saturday's Lexus Raven Run

Three times in this decade, fillies from Southern California have invaded the Commonwealth and made off with the winner’s share of the Lexus Raven Run (G2).

On Saturday, Albert and Kathleen Mattivi’s First Star will attempt to join the likes of Miss Sunset, Madame Cactus and Great Hot (BRZ) in the $250,000 race going 7 furlongs on the main track.

Trained by Ron Ellis, First Star is undefeated in two starts with both coming at Del Mar this summer.

“She is a big filly and I just gave her plenty of time,” Ellis said. “She is the kind of filly who will get better as she gets older.”

A Florida-bred daughter of First Dude, First Star broke her maiden going 6½ furlongs on July 20 and came back five weeks later to beat older allowance foes going a mile. Drayden Van Dyke, who was aboard for those two victories, comes east to ride Saturday.

“I think she is going to be better going a mile or a mile and a sixteenth,” Ellis said. “I have kept her schedule light because I think next year will be a strong year.”

Still, he jumped at the chance to move into graded stakes completion sprinting.

“I wanted to keep her against 3-year-old fillies,” Ellis said. “Facing older allowance fillies, they’d probably run an 85 to an 88 Beyer (Speed Figure) and they may not run that (in the Lexus Raven Run). So, we are going to take a shot for more money and a graded stakes placing.”