Monday Morning Qb spent some time on the Triple Crown trail this year, but on the Preakness undercard Saturday he will be going down a whole new path. Monday Morning Qb will be making his turf debut in the $100,000 James W. Murphy. “We’ve been trying to do that for some time now with his pedigree,” trainer Butch Reid said of the son of Imagining. “His father was a stone turf horse and he’s a big, well-going horse and we really think he’ll handle the turf well.” The James W. Murphy is one of two stakes on the card for 3-year-olds on turf. The other is the $100,000 Hilltop for fillies. Both races are at a mile. Monday Morning Qb is one of 14 in a field that includes Bye Bye Melvin, winner of the Grade 3 Saranac at Saratoga; Andesite, who ran in last year’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf; and multiple stakes winners Vanzzy and Jack the Umpire. Monday Morning Qb became a stakes winner in the $100,000 Heft last December at Laurel Park. The Maryland-bred then ran fourth in the Grade 3 Withers on Feb. 1 at Aqueduct and second in the $100,000 Federico Tesio at Laurel in his last start Sept. 7. In between those Triple Crown preps, the horse was given some downtime. “He’s a big guy,” Reid said. “He was 1,200 pounds as a 2-year-old. That’s the reason we gave him a good six months off, to kind of let him grow into himself and let him fill out a little bit better, and he’s certainly done that. In his comeback race, the Tesio, the time off really seemed to do him well.” :: Get DRF Betting Strategies for Pimlico’s Preakness Day card Monday Morning Qb set the pace to the late stages of the 1 1/8-mile race when finishing second to the undefeated Happy Saver. Monday Morning Qb on Saturday will break from post 9 under Victor Carrasco when he cuts back in distance. “He’s a very handy horse,” Reid said. “The jock will be able to kind of place him wherever he wants to. He’ll be laying close. The horse definitely doesn’t need the lead, so wherever he’s comfortable. I think he’ll be in the first flight. “I kind of like the turnback. We really stretched him off the layoff, going the mile and an eighth, so we wanted to give him kind of a race well within himself, which we think this will, especially if he handles the turf the way we think he will.” Reid said he’s hoping for firm footing. There was rain earlier in the week, but it was not forecast for Saturday. “I’m hoping the rain stops so the turf is at least semi-firm on Saturday,” he said. “I’d hate to see a real soft turf course, as far as how far he’d dig in.” Monday Morning Qb races for Cash Is King and LC Racing. The Hilltop field of 13 is a puzzle. It includes Chart, winner of the Grade 3 Ontario Colleen at Woodbine; American Giant and Caravel, both stakes winners in the U.S.; and Secret Time and Shimmering, who exit stakes in Europe. “It looks like an evenly matched group and I think probably a big part will be who gets the right trip,” said Michael Stidham, who trains the undefeated Princess Grace. Princess Grace has won both of her starts, both turf races, at the distance of the Hilltop. Her debut came in a maiden special weight Aug. 2 at Colonial for which she earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 81. From there, she accounted for a first-level allowance Sept. 5 at Monmouth. “She ran a huge race first time out, came back in her second race and handled the race against winners nicely,” Stidham said. “We felt like she was worthy of a shot at some black type. This looked like a good step. I think numbers-wise she fits with these horses.” Princess Grace is a Susan and John Moore homebred. She is by Breeders’ Cup Mile winner Karakontie and out of the six-time winning mare Masquerade. “We trained her mother,” Stidham said. “She was so game. Every time she went out there, anytime she hooked up with a horse down the stretch, she would always give it her all to try and get the win. She was just a real game filly and with her daughter it seems to be like mother, like daughter. She gives us the same zeal in the mornings. She’s got a great mind, goes out there and trains like a soldier every morning, and so far has done the same in the afternoon – has gone out there and tried hard both times.” Joe Bravo has the mount on the versatile Princess Grace from post 9. “If they’re going really fast, she’ll be farther back,” Stidham said. “If they’re slowing it down, she can lay just off the lead. It just depends on the pace.” Skipat Stakes Bronx Beauty and Chalon have won 15 stakes between them and will start as top contenders in the $100,000 Skipat, a six-furlong race for fillies and mares. Others in the field of seven include four-time stakes winner Bye Bye J and 11-time winner Liza Star. Chalon – who was cross-entered in a Thursday turf stakes at Pimlico – has won seven stakes. Her list of victories includes last year’s Skipat. Chalon enters the week on the verge of a major milestone, as her career earnings stand at $991,895. Bronx Beauty has won eight stakes, her latest in the Regret on Sept. 13 at Monmouth.