Home Journey Headlines Strong Field for $75,000 Mizdirection Stakes

Home Journey tops the field as the morning line favorite at odds of 2-1 for trainer Mike Puype. A five-year-old daughter of Good Journey, she has won five of her twelve starts and earned the first stakes victory of her career last time out in the Las Cienegas Stakes (G3). In that race, she turned in a front-running effort to win by one-length over the favorite. Rafael Bejarano will be back in the irons and they are scheduled to break from the outside post.

Birdlover (GB) in sharp form this year

Second choice at 5-2 on the morning line is Birdlover (GB) for trainer Doug O’Neill.  A five-year-old daughter of Byron (GB), she has won five of her sixteen starts and has won two of her three starts this year since returning off of a year-long layoff. She was third last time out in the Wilshire Stakes (G3) in a photo finish as the favorite. She will get a jockey change to Mike Smith and they are slated to break from post position five.

First start off the bench for Alexis Tangier

Also in the field at morning line odds of 7-2 is Alexis Tangier for trainer Richard Mandella. A four-year-old daughter of Tiznow out of the multiple graded stakes winner Cambiocorsa, she has won three of her seven starts and was a minor stakes winner as a sophomore. She has been on the shelf since an eighth-place finish in the Autumn Miss Stakes (G3) and training steadily for her return. Victor Espinoza will be aboard from post position two.