LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Following a successful seasonal debut that ran her winning streak to six, the Argentine-bred mare Didia faces her sternest test yet when she runs in Friday’s Grade 3, $300,000 Modesty Stakes at Churchill Downs. The Modesty, scheduled for 1 1/8 miles on turf, drew a field of nine, including graded stakes winners Shantisara, McKulick, and New Year’s Eve. “I wouldn’t say a super step up in class, but it’s a big step,” said Ignacio Correas IV, trainer of Didia. “This race is the one that’s going to define where you go after this.” Didia, a dual Group 1 winner in Argentina, won two starts at Colonial Downs last summer before an illness forced her to miss a stakes at Keeneland in the fall. In March, Didia came off a seven-month layoff to win the Tom Benson Memorial at Fair Grounds, a race in which she beat New Year’s Eve. “She was sitting on a great effort, that’s what she did – she ran a great race,” Correas said. “She didn’t have the best pace to chase, but she delivered anyway. She was a clear winner and she did everything a little easier than I expected.” :: DRF Kentucky Derby Package: Save on PPs, Clocker Reports, Betting Strategies, and more. Vincent Cheminaud, who is 3 for 3 aboard Didia, has the call from post 2. Last year, New Year’s Eve won the Grade 2 Edgewood Stakes here at 14-1 following a third-place finish in a stakes at Fair Grounds. New Year’s Eve comes into this off a third to Didia in the Benson, her first start off a seven-month layoff. “It seems like she’s doing as well as she’s ever done,” said Brendan Walsh, the trainer of New Year’s Eve. “She loved it here last year, I expect her to run a big race.” In the Edgewood, New Year’s Eve rallied from last under Luis Saez. Walsh is hoping there will be some pace Friday for New Year’s Eve to close into under Saez. “She’s got a nice little turn of foot but you would like to see some pace for sure,” Walsh said. Walsh also sends out Lady Rockstar, who finished third in the Pegasus Filly and Mare Turf and then sixth with some trouble in the Grade 3 The Very One, both at Gulfstream Park. “She got stuck in behind the two pace horses, they backed up, then horses came up either side of her and she had absolutely nowhere to go,” Walsh said. Walsh is adding blinkers to Lady Rockstar’s equipment “just to sharpen her up,” he said. Shantisara and McKulick are both Grade 1 winners for Chad Brown. Shantisara, who won the 2021 Queen Elizabeth II at Keeneland, captured her first victory since when she won the Grade 2 Hillsborough on March 11 at Tampa. Prior to that, she finished second behind Queen Goddess in the Pegasus Filly and Mare Turf. “I thought she was best in the Pegasus, very slow pace on firm turf with sharp turns at a distance too short for her,” Brown said. “I thought she ran very well at Tampa. I’m trying to keep her at a mile and an eighth or farther.” Flavien Prat, who rode Shantisara to three consecutive victories in the fall of 2021, is reunited with Shantisara from post 7. Irad Ortiz Jr., who had ridden Shantisara in her last two starts, is aboard McKulick, who hasn’t started since a runner-up finish in last fall’s Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II. :: Take your handicapping to the next level and play with FREE DRF Past Performances - Formulator or Classic.  McKulick, who was second to New Year’s Eve in the Edgewood, came back to win graded stakes at 10 and 11 furlongs last summer. “Her very best distance is a mile and a quarter, but this is a good spot to get started,” Brown said. “If pace develops in front of her, she’s good enough to win at a mile and an eighth.” Sweet Dani Girl, a front-running winner of a Florida-bred stakes at Tampa Bay Downs, may try to wire this group on Friday for trainer Carlo Vacarrezza. Sparkle Blue won the Valley View last October at Keeneland and was third with some trouble in the Grade 1 American Oaks at 1 1/4 miles in her most recent start Dec. 26. Kate’s Kingdom and Henrietta Topham look like longshots in this group. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.