When Didia finished fourth July 13 at Saratoga in the Diana Stakes, won by the Chad Brown-trained Whitebeam, her trainer, Ignacio Correas, rued the difficulty of beating multiple Brown entrants in high-level turf stakes for fillies and mares. Thursday’s eighth race at Keeneland is a third-level, filly-and-mare allowance carded for 1 1/16 miles on grass, and even here, Correas faces a similar issue. Correas sends out Watch This Birdie, a plausible winner at her best but third a year ago at Keeneland in a second-level turf allowance won by the Brown-trained Saffron Moon, the 3-1 morning-line favorite in this contest while making her first start since November. While Watch This Birdie has upset potential, the greatest upset was such a high-level allowance race attracting so many entries, 23, that the racing office split it. And in the first division, race 4, Correas sends out an even more interesting horse, the Argentine import Nanda Dea. Nanda Dea, a 5-year-old on Northern Hemisphere time, was the 2023 champion miler in Argentina, going 5 for 5 on grass, improving with every start, and winning her Group 1 debut about a year ago, twice beating males during her campaign. Her final South American start came in February, when, Correas said, Nanda Dea failed to properly settle in her first start beyond one mile, fading to sixth going 1 1/4 miles in the Group 1 Copa de Plata. :: Play Keeneland with the most trusted information in horse racing! All Access Past Performances, Picks, Betting Strategies and more. Nanda Dea began posting timed workouts at Keeneland in late May, has breezed steadily and has impressed her trainer, also an Argentina native. “She trains like a monster. You can tell she’s different,” said Correas. Correas knows a good horse when he sees one. Saturday, both Didia, who goes in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf, and Mufasa, who starts in the Dirt Mile, turned in Keeneland workouts for their California trip later this month. Correas also trained South American import Blue Prize, winner of the Breeders’ Cup Distaff in 2019. Correas points out that Blue Prize required several American starts to get the hang of things here. That might not be the case with Nanda Dea. “The way she’s working, no, she won’t need a race. But sometimes they need time to get used to everything being different here,” Correas said. Among Nanda Dea’s 10 rivals is For Flying, a Brazilian import trained in Maryland by Graham Motion, who has Heavenly Appointed in race 8. There, Watch This Birdie reunites with jockey Vincent Cheminaud, aboard for all three of the filly’s victories. Closing into a slow pace at this class level, Watch This Birdie finished third, beaten just a neck, at Saratoga before turning in a decent showing, a fourth at Kentucky Downs. “I think her best races have been with Cheminaud. I think they get along better,” Correas said. Saffron Moon, however, seems to have a special fondness for the local grass course, having won her two starts over the course by a combined 10 3/4 lengths. Even at his home track, Keeneland, it’s not easy for Correas to steer clear of these Brown fillies on grass. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.