ARCADIA, Calif. – If stakes-winning filly Kopion acquires an inferiority complex, it is understandable. Despite launching her career with two runaway wins, Kopion plays second fiddle Sunday in the Grade 3 Las Virgenes Stakes at Santa Anita. The historically predictable stakes race is headed by debut winner Kinza, whose 96 Beyer Speed Figure is the highest by any filly foaled in 2021. And despite Kopion’s role as top 3-year-old filly in Richard Mandella’s barn, everyone wants to know about her stablemate, Tamara. Kopion is the Travis Kelce of racing. The tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs, Kelce plays next Sunday in the Super Bowl, but everyone just wants to know about his girlfriend, Taylor Swift. Shake it off. Kopion will earn greater respect Sunday if she stretches out successfully in the one-mile Las Virgenes, but it won’t be easy to defeat the favorite. Kinza’s debut figure towers over the field, and the Las Virgenes always is won by chalk. Seven of last eight Las Virgenes winners were favored, including six at odds-on. The Las Virgenes, for 3-year-old fillies, also includes Grade 2 winner Nothing Like You, stakes winner Grand Slam Smile, Great Forty Eight, and She’s a Tempest. The race centers on high-figure Kinza and possibly underrated Kopion. Who’s missing? Tamara. :: Access morning workout reports straight from the tracks and get an edge with DRF Clocker Reports Tamara is the Beholder filly who crushed the Grade 1 Del Mar Debutante last summer before she cracked a splint bone and finished seventh as the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies favorite. Tamara resumed light training early this week. “She won’t run for four months, but she’s completely healed,” Mandella said this week at Santa Anita. Tamara began jogging Monday at a nearby layup facility. “She’ll get a month of that, just jogging and easy gallops, and then we’ll bring her in here.” Sunday in the Las Virgenes, Mandella’s attention turns to Kopion, a filly by Omaha Beach who won her sprint debut at 6 1/2 furlongs and blitzed three rivals in the Grade 3 Santa Ynez. What is the difference between the seven-furlong Santa Ynez and the Las Virgenes? “It’s another eighth of a mile,” Mandella deadpanned. It was a joke. The trainer is confident Kopion will stay the trip. “I don’t see it being a problem. She’s very tractable, very nice.” Flavien Prat rides Kopion, who drew outside in a field of six. Her main rivals are trained by Bob Baffert – Kinza and Nothing Like You. Any normal year, Nothing Like You might be favored in the Las Virgenes based on a three-race win streak that includes two routes. Her most recent was a runaway in the 1 1/16-mile Grade 2 Starlet at Los Alamitos. Nothing Like You won the Starlet by more than five lengths, earning a career-best 79 Beyer. The figure pales compared to Kinza’s 96 sprint figure. Nothing Like You, 3 for 6 with two route wins under her belt, is the most accomplished in the Las Virgenes field. But she is not the fastest. :: Bet the races with a $200 First Deposit Match + FREE All Access PPs! Join DRF Bets. Beyond the speed-figure advantage held by Kinza, another telling factor is her jockey. Juan Hernandez rode Nothing Like You during her win streak, but he rides Kinza in the Las Virgenes. It’s the right call based on numbers. Frankie Dettori picks up the mount on Nothing Like You. Kinza is by the $3,500 sire Carpe Diem, who was relocated from Kentucky and now stands in Louisiana. Kinza, bred in Kentucky, was purchased at a 2-year-old sale for $350,000 and runs for owner Michael Lund Petersen. He and Baffert are seeking their third straight victory in the Las Virgenes, having won with Adare Manor and Faiza in 2022 and 2023. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.