Delta Wind © Benoit Photo

There’s an old racetrack maxim that goes like this: “Fillies and mares will give you gray hairs.” The distaff set, you see, has a reputation for being a bit more quirky with their racing form than their male counterparts.

That debatable idea could well be on display Friday at Del Mar when eight fillies and mares – all daughters of the Golden State – will match up at six and a half furlongs in the $72,000 allowance feature that heads the day’s eight-race card.

Topping the lineup is a 3-year-old daughter of Square Eddie who runs out of the barn of trainer John Sadler and is both owned and was bred by the Hronis Racing folks. Delta Wind won for fun (11 and a quarter lengths to be exact) in a straight maiden race at Del Mar on August 29, then came back in an allowance sprint at Santa Anita on October 21 where she looked like something to eat. The chestnut went off at 3-5, yet could only finish fourth of six, beaten more than four lengths. Gray hairs, indeed.

But she’s back Friday in another allowance sprint and eligible to get it right this time. She’ll be reunited with her regular partner of late – jockey Joe Bravo – and they’ll break from Post 4. Del Mar’s linemaker Jon White has hung her as the 5/2 morning line favorite.

Here’s the full field for the dash from the rail out with riders and morning line odds:

Bobby and Carol Ann Grayson Living Trust’s Saturday Heist (Edwin Maldonado, 12-1); Bell & Brewster’s Kristi’s Tiger (Mike Smith, 7/2); Al and Sandee Kirkwood’s Rain Diva (Jessica Pyfer, 6-1); Delta Wind; Abrams, Dutko or Paran’s Big Summer (Umberto Rispoli, 5-1); Hall, Smolich or Wood, et al’s Lila At the Beach (Abel Cedillo, 12-1); Oakcrest Stable’s Cassie Belle (Tyler Baze, 6-1), and Kagele or Shaw’s September Secret (Diego Herrera, 4-1).

Kristi’s Tiger is a steady sort who rarely fires a bad shot. She’s been first or second in 10 of her 16 starts and has been a steady performer at this level. She’s a 4-year-old by Smiling Tiger with $189,700 in winnings in her account.

September Secret, a gray 3-year-old by Grazen, has several reasons to be liked Friday. She has run only twice this year – September 6 and October 17 -- both times against open allowance types. She’s catching softer in this state-bred sprint and will switch over from a pair of turf tries to the main track. She’ll be in light, too, at 115 with her apprentice rider up.

First post Friday is at 12:30 p.m.