DEL MAR, Calif. – A mid-summer trip to California worked out so well for Shedaresthedevil last year that she’s back to defend her title in the Grade 1, $400,000 Clement Hirsch Stakes on Saturday at Del Mar, again seeking a fees-paid berth to the Breeders’ Cup Distaff three months hence at Keeneland. They’re coming from everywhere, literally and figuratively, for the 1 1/16-mile Hirsch. Shedaresthedevil, trained by Brad Cox, is in from Kentucky, where she most recently won the Grade 2 Fleur de Lis. Soothsay is coming off an extended layoff, her presence here indicative of the high regard in which her trainer, Richard Mandella, says she has worked for her first start in 13 months. Desert Dawn, 3, is exiting age-restricted races, and thus will face elders for the first time for the meet’s leading trainer, Phil D’Amato. Add in Private Mission and Blue Stripe, the one-two finishers from the Grade 2 Santa Maria at Santa Anita on June 18, and this race has plenty of depth for a seven-horse field. Lisette and Samurai Charm will be the outsiders. Shedaresthedevil hit her peak form for this year in her third start off the layoff last time out, annexing the Fleur de Lis following a third-place finish in the Grade 2 Azeri at Oaklawn Park and a second in the Grade 1 La Troienne at Churchill Downs. :: Get Del Mar Clocker Reports straight from the morning workouts at the track. Available every race day. “Her last race was very good. Even when she lost she ran great in defeat,” her regular rider, Florent Geroux, said Thursday morning. “Obviously her record speaks for itself. Churchill is her favorite” – she’s 6 for 7 there – “but she likes to win.” Shedaresthedevil has won 10 of her 20 lifetime starts. She figures to fall into a good trip, with Private Mission and, most likely, Samurai Charm the quickest early, though Shedaresthedevil is capable of taking up the running if the pace is moderate. Soothsay, a winner of 3 of 4, has not raced since winning last year’s Grade 2 Indiana Oaks. She’s had three strong drills here since arriving from Santa Anita. “She’s doing pretty good right now,” Mandella said. “I wish I had another week – I know all trainers say that – but since she’s got down here she’s really turned it on.” Desert Dawn, who won this year’s Grade 2 Santa Anita Oaks – following Soothsay in 2021 – subsequently was third in the Kentucky Oaks and then third in the Grade 2 Summertime Oaks, a race in which jockey Umberto Rispoli was fortunate to stay on after Desert Dawn stumbled twice, the second time badly, leaving the gate. She too has trained sharply here in recent weeks. Private Mission, trained by Bob Baffert, bravely staved off Blue Stripe in the Santa Maria using stalking tactics, far more suitable for her than the blazing pace she carved out in last year’s Breeders’ Cup Distaff, that her lone loss in four tries going two turns. Blue Stripe, an import from Argentina, was a mild upset winner of the Grade 2 Santa Margarita at Santa Anita prior to the Santa Maria. After being thrown into the deep end of the pool in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff in her North American debut last fall, trainer Marcelo Polanco gave her an extended break over the winter, and she’s responded with two solid efforts. “I gave her two months off, and from then until now she’s done really good,” Polanco said at his barn Thursday morning. “She’s been eating like there’s no tomorrow.” :: DRF's Del Mar headquarters – Stakes schedule, previews, recaps, past performances, and more Hector Berrios, who piloted Polanco-trained Irideo to an upset win in the Wickerr here last month, takes over on Blue Stripe. Samurai Charm won twice against cheaper going long here last summer and now stretches back out following two sprints to begin her 2022 campaign for Peter Miller. Lisette, sixth at 55-1 in the Santa Margarita for Paddy Gallagher, came back to beat a first-level allowance field but would need significant improvement to be effective vs. this bunch. The Hirsch is race 9 on 11-race card that begins at 2 p.m. Pacific. It’s another terrific card, with an average of 10 potential runners per race. Eight of the 11 races had so many entries that also-eligibles were needed. There is a mandatory payout in the pick six wager, the first of three scheduled at the meet. The other two are on Pacific Classic Day, Sept. 3, and closing day, Sept. 11.