ARCADIA, Calif. – A leaderless female division in California can crown a queen on Saturday at Santa Anita, though her reign may be short. The winner of the Grade 1 B. Wayne Hughes Beholder Mile might be an out-of-state traveler with a round-trip ticket. One week after shippers plundered the Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap – Locked and Hit Show finished first and third – two filly-mare shippers aim for a similar result in the Beholder Mile. Tarifa, from Florida, and Hoosier Philly, from Louisiana, arrived this week to face an unassuming cast of locals in the $300,000 Beholder Mile. Six were entered in the Beholder Mile, including 3-for-3 Cavalieri, her Group 1-winning Chilean stablemate Richi, graded stakes-placed Alpha Bella, and allowance winner Ultimate Authority. The field lacks a star. Top local females Kopion, Accuracy, and Sweet Azteca are sidelined. Aside from Richi, whose high figures were earned in sprints, none of the Beholder entrants are particularly fast. Nor is Tarifa, the Brad Cox-trained multiple Grade 2 winner making her first start since finishing second in the Grade 2 Falls City at Churchill Downs more than three months ago. Expectations are Tarifa will fire first start back. “I think she’s going to run big,” Cox said. “She’s given us a lot of confidence with her works [at Payson Park]. We never really took her completely out of training after the Falls City. It wasn’t as if she was out for very long. She started back breezing mid-January.” :: Santa Anita Clocker Reports are available every race day. Access now. Tarifa, owned and bred by Godolphin, was an elite 3-year-old filly last season, when she won three Grade 2 races. The 5-for-10 filly’s only misfire was a bad-trip ninth in the Kentucky Oaks. Cox nominated Tarifa to the Grade 2 Azeri Stakes on Saturday at Oaklawn, but will start Alpine Princess against Thorpedo Anna in that race. As for Tarifa, her training for the Beholder suggests she will fire. “This was an opportunity at a Grade 1 that made a lot of sense,” Cox said. Mike Smith rides Tarifa, whose career-high 95 Beyer earned last March might be fast enough. Hoosier Philly looms an upset candidate for trainer Tom Amoss. Hoosier Philly is closing in on $1 million in earnings, but her races last summer were curiously subpar. That changed in autumn. “We’ve been dealing with a very minor throat issue that had finally gotten to the point where we could do a procedure that allowed us to correct it,” Amoss said. “That’s reflected in her last two races.” Hoosier Philly won an ungraded stakes by nearly five lengths in fall at Fair Grounds, and followed with a creditable third in the Grade 3 Houston Ladies Classic at Sam Houston. Hoosier Philly, 6 for 17, benefits by the cutback in distance under Umberto Rispoli. “I like the idea of going a mile with Hoosier Philly. She’s been successful at it,” Amoss said. “You could make a case that at distances farther than that, she’s weakened a little bit at the very end of the race.” Bob Baffert entered two in the Beholder – 9-5 program favorite Cavalieri and the accomplished Richi. Richi was a multiple Group 1 route winner in Chile whose impressive comeback in the Grade 3 Las Flores was followed by a distant third in a Grade 2 sprint won by Kopion. “I think [Richi] just sort of bounced,” Baffert said. “She had a big effort, and just [regressed].” Antonio Fresu rides Richi, whose rail post probably mandates a front-running strategy. Richi, the high-figure entrant with recent 96 and 99 sprint Beyers, is stretching out for the first time in the U.S. Richi could be hounded by her front-running stablemate. Cavalieri won her career debut in a route last summer at Del Mar, followed with an entry-level allowance win at Santa Anita, and last out won the Grade 3 La Canada Stakes by 1 1/2 lengths over Alpha Bella. Juan Hernandez rides Cavalieri. :: Playing Santa Anita? Get the most trusted data and information in horse racing! DRF Past Performances, Picks, and Clocker Reports available now. Alpha Bella was entered in the Grade 3 Buena Vista on turf last week. That race was only a backup if the Beholder came up tough. Kopion and Thorpedo Anna were nominated, but when they passed, Alpha Bella’s trainer John Sadler scratched from the Buena Vista and targeted the Beholder. “We just wanted to look at both spots, and get the best spot,” Sadler said, adding that the Beholder “is so much more important” due to its Grade 1 status. Alpha Bella has made three starts for Sadler since relocating from East Coast; she finished second in all three graded stakes. Hector Berrios rides Alpha Bella. Ultimate Authority won an entry-level allowance last out with an 88 Beyer that compares favorably to the route figures earned by her rivals in the Beholder. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.