Jockey Jose Valdivia, Jr. rode Lavender ($13.40) to a mild upset in Friday's first race, a maiden special weight race at 5 1-2 furlongs on turf. The victory was Valdivia's first since he rode Next Shares in the Grade 2 Seabiscuit Handicap at Del Mar on Nov. 30.

Valdivia was winless with his first 11 mounts of the meeting, which began on Dec. 28.

Lavender, trained by Matt Chew, rallied from off the pace to win by 1 3-4 lengths over 9-2 Dance Costume. This was Lavender's first start sice she fiished second in a maiden race on the synthetic track at Dundalk Racecourse in Ireland in October 2018.