DEL MAR, Calif. – After running perhaps the best race of her career when second against elders last time out, Desert Dawn returns Sunday to a race restricted to 3-year-old fillies, and looks to return to the winner’s circle for the first time since April, when she heads the field in the Grade 3, $125,000 Torrey Pines Stakes at Del Mar. After winning the Grade 2 Santa Anita Oaks, Desert Dawn has lost her last three races, but it would be hard to fault any of those efforts. She was third in the Kentucky Oaks behind division leaders Nest and Secret Oath, lost all chance at the start of the Grade 2 Summertime Oaks when stumbling badly, and was a gallant second to the older Blue Stripe in the Grade 1 Clement Hirsch a month ago. That’s an ambitious campaign, but her trainer, Phil D’Amato, says she’s never taken a step back. “She came out of her last race good,” D’Amato said. “Each time I watch her, and I’m prepared to wait, but she continues to flourish. “Her last drill,” D’Amato said, referring to a five-furlong work in 1:00 last Saturday, “she was in breeze mode.” :: DRF's Del Mar headquarters – Stakes schedule, previews, recaps, past performances, and more Desert Dawn beat maidens here last summer at age 2, and following the Clement Hirsch now has finished in the money in 3 of 4 starts at Del Mar. “She likes it down here,” D’Amato said. “Cooler temperatures, and she can stay in a nice, outside pen.” Desert Dawn drew the rail for the Torrey Pines, which is one lap around Del Mar’s main track. She faces six rivals, including three trained by Bob Baffert. The best of the Baffert bunch could be Grace Adler, who came off a 7 1/2-month layoff to finish a distant second to the outstanding older female sprinter Slammed in an allowance race July 28. Slammed subsequently gave Edgeway a fight before finishing second last weekend in the Grade 3 Rancho Bernardo. Grace Adler, last year’s Grade 1 Del Mar Debutante winner, “has her form back,” Baffert said Friday morning. She went off form last fall, with poor efforts in the Grade 2 Chandelier and Grade 1 Startlet, before the lengthy layoff. She has yet to prove, though, that she can be effective going two turns. :: Visit the Del Mar Handicapping Store for Past Performances, Clocker Reports, Picks, Betting Strategies and more. Midnight Memories, the least experienced of the Baffert trio, was third to Slammed and Grace Adler, her performance compromised by her pre-race behavior. This will be her first attempt at two turns. “She fell apart in the paddock last time,” Baffert said. Under the Stars, who took advantage of Desert Dawn’s rough start to capture the Summertime Oaks, has not raced since that June 12 stakes. “I lost some time with her,” Baffert said. “She needs to run. This should set her up for something.” The longshots Cinnamon Cat, Kirstenbosch, and Malibu Marie round out the field. The Torrey Pines is race 5 on an 11-race card that begins at 1 p.m. Pacific and includes the Grade 3 Green Flash Handicap, race 9, a Win and You’re In for the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint.