Brown Ships Wekeela West for Gamely

Trainer Chad Brown nominated four runners for the $300,000 Gamely (gr. IT) May 30 at Santa Anita Park, but only Martin Schwartz's Wekeela will make the trip out west.

The 4-year-old Irish-bred daughter of Hurricane Run could be the one to beat, considering how she ran in her U.S. debut and who defeated her April 16 at Keeneland.

In her first start stateside and the first under Brown's care, Wekeela—already a group III winner in France—ran second, five lengths behind champion grass mare Tepin in the Jenny Wiley (gr. IT). She'll have the services of top jockey Javier Castellano, who will also ship in from the East Coast.

NOVAK: Tepin Sets Jenny Wiley Record

Wekeela will face a group of five graded winners in the nine-horse field, headed by last-out Royal Heroine (gr. IIT) victress Nancy From Nairobi. The John Sadler-trained Sixties Icon mare has won three straight races on the Santa Anita grass, including two allowance races before the Royal Heroine.

HAMMONDS: Nancy From Nairobi Wins Royal Heroine

The speedy Fanticola, who showed a different dimension in the Royal Heroine, stalking early before putting a head in front and eventually finishing third, earned her graded credentials for trainer Phil D'Amato in the in the 2015 Royal Heroine and was just a neck back of Hard Not to Like in her Gamely win last year.

Both Fanticola and fellow Gamely entrant Elektrum—who won the 2015 John C. Mabee Stakes (gr. IIT)—are on four-race winless streaks since their graded scores. The final grade II winner in the field, Nashoba's Gold, also hasn't visited the winner's circle in six starts since her victory in the 2014 Honeymoon (gr. IIT).

The final graded winner in the field is Keri Belle, who finished eighth in the Royal Heroine, but won the Megahertz (gr. IIIT) three starts back. Allowance winners Evo Campo, Dressed to a T, and Illuminant complete the field.