DEL MAR, Calif. (AP) - Happy to have top-ranked 3-year-old filly Blind Luck running on the opposite coast instead of nipping her at the finish line, Evening Jewel held off a late charge from Harmonious to win the $300,000 Del Mar Oaks on Saturday.

Ridden by Victor Espinoza, Evening Jewel sat third in a field of 10 for most of the Grade 1 stakes for 3-year-old fillies, cut inside to the rail and took the lead coming out of the second turn and hung on for the half-length victory over Mike Smith and Harmonious, covering 1 1-8 miles on the turf course in 1:47.27.

``She's not that big but she's perfectly balanced. Just right. She shifts spots and she's easy to handle,'' Espinoza said. ``I had to drop her down inside today, but it was no problem.''

Twice this year, Blind Luck has rallied to beat Evening Jewel by a nose in the final yards, first in February in the Las Virgenes Stakes at Santa Anita, then in the Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs in April.

But on Saturday, Blind Luck was 3,000 miles away, winning the $500,000 Alabama Stakes at Saratoga Race Course in New York state.

Evening Jewel paid $4.80, $2.80 and $2.20. Harmonious returned $3.20 and $2.60, and Perfect Shirl paid $3.20 to show.

Trained by Jim Cassidy, who won the Del Mar Oaks for the second time, Evening Jewel has won six times and run second five times in 12 career starts. She earned $180,000 Saturday, taking her lifetime total to $876,943.