LOUISVILLE, Ky. – There were two graded stakes, coastal bookends, for 3-year-old turf-route fillies on Aug. 20. Spendarella won the Grade 1 Del Mar Oaks, and Haughty the Grade 2 Lake Placid at Saratoga. Neither has raced since. Both make their 4-year-old debut Saturday at Churchill Downs in the Grade 2, $500,000 Distaff Turf Mile. Spendarella’s was the stronger of the two performances, but Haughty might have more to give this year than in 2022, said trainer Chad Brown, who also runs Speak of the Devil, a brilliant winner of this race’s 2022 renewal, and the consistent veteran Fluffy Socks in an eight-horse field. Brown said Haughty blossomed through last fall, over the winter, and into spring. “Very excited about her. She’s really training well,” he said. Still, it will be surprising if Haughty has surpassed Spendarella. Spendarella won four of her five starts last year after making her career debut in February and rising through the graded stakes ranks on the way to her Grade 1 in August. The filly, a Gainesway Stable homebred by the Gainesway stallion Karakontie, lost nothing in her lone defeat, a second-place finish in the Group 1 Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot, a race won by Inpsiral, one of the leading 3-year-old fillies in Europe last year. :: Get the full DRF Kentucky Derby Clocker Report by Mike Welsch and the DRF Clocker Team Trainer Graham Motion gave Spendarella a breather upon her return to his Fair Hill Training Center base following the English junket, and at Del Mar she clearly was an improved horse. The filly put 4 1/2 lengths on runner-up Bellabel, who was coming off an easy win in the Grade 2 San Clemente and returned with a good third at Keeneland in the Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup. When Spendarella met with a minor setback, connections took a conservative approach and put her away for the year. She remains a horse of modest size and scope but has matured and grown into her frame, said Motion, who has put his charge through 10 timed workouts this winter and spring, four of the drills over six furlongs. The filly is ready. “I don’t think she needs a race,” Motion said. Spendarella has the greatest asset in grass racing – controllable speed. She has sat first, second, or third in all her races, has a quick turn of foot, and gets home from the eighth pole very quickly. Hopes are high: Motion mentioned the Breeders’ Cup Mile as a year-end goal. Speak of the Devil in last year’s Distaff Turf Mile turned in an awesome performance, running her last quarter-mile in 22.85 seconds after an electric far-turn move. The Churchill turf officially, and inaccurately, was listed as firm for the race. There ground had plenty of give, which is what Speak of the Devil, a soft-going specialist, is not going to get Saturday. Fluffy Socks already has hit her ceiling and probably needs more distance to show her best, Brown said. That leaves Haughty as Brown’s leading chance. Haughty was beaten less than a length in the 2021 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf before a three-start 2022 campaign. She controlled a slow pace winning the Lake Placid, holding off the high-class Godolphin filly With the Moonlight. More naturally a presser or stalker, Haughty, by Empire Maker, has a chance to become another Brown-trained female turf star. :: DRF Kentucky Derby Package: Save on PPs, Clocker Reports, Betting Strategies, and more. “You could see a different horse this year,” he said. The Bill Mott-trained 5-year-old mare Wakanaka merits respect. Unlike Spendarella, Wakanaka can’t make her own race, requiring a strong pace in front of her to deliver a peak showing. But with the chance of rain on Friday into Saturday greatly diminished, Wakanaka should get the quick, firm going she prefers. The other three entrants Sharp Hero, Sister Lou Ann, and Freedom Speaks, aren’t in the same class. Spendarella has been all class. She may take them to school Saturday. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.