May Day Ready Attempts to Stay Perfect in Miss Grillo

Just three weeks after her lucrative victory in the Kentucky Downs Juvenile Fillies Stakes Sept. 8, May Day Ready  will be back in the starting gate as she faces an overflow field of 12 in the $200,000 Miss Grillo Stakes (G2T) at Aqueduct Racetrack Sept. 29.

Short recovery times appear to be the theme of the team, as the 2-year-old Tapit   filly's regular rider, Frankie Dettori, plans to return to the saddle just 10 days after dislocating his shoulder in a starting gate incident Sept. 19.

The duo will break from post position three and, at least by purse earnings, far outpace their rivals. Undefeated in her first two career starts, May Day Ready has earned $643,300 for owners KatieRich Stables, a number greatly impacted by her win in the one-mile stakes in Franklin, Ky. Her Aug. 4 maiden victory came at the Miss Grillo distance of 1 1/16 miles.

Video: Kentucky Downs Juvenile Fillies S. (BT)

The victory would be the first graded win in Joseph Lee's career as a head trainer, although the experience of graded success would not be new to the longtime Godolphin assistant. Lee and Dettori's friendship goes back several decades, with Lee saddling the legendary jockey's 1,000th career winner when Classic Cliche won the St. Leger (G1) at Doncaster in 1995.

The win would be extra special for the five-horse barn as it would award their stable star an automatic, fees-paid berth to the $1 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1T) at Del Mar Nov. 2.

Last year, that invite was won by Hard to Justify , who justified her credentials with a win in the Breeders' Cup. Her trainer, Chad Brown—winner of the Miss Grillo nine times since 2008—is back with three chances this year.

Breaking on the rail for Brown and jockey Flavien Prat is Resolute Racing's Virgin Colada . A half-length winner on debut at Saratoga Race Course July 21 at 1 1/16 miles, she rallied but finished second Aug. 28 in the listed P. G. Johnson Stakes by a half-length at the same distance.

The other Brown runners, Stephanie Seymour Brant's Opulent Restraint  from post 8 and Lawrence Goichman's Marvelous Madison  from post 9, both enter off maiden special weight victories—as do five other entrants.

The only stakes winner in the field other than May Day Ready is D. J. Stable's Shifty . The daughter of Medaglia d'Oro   broke her maiden in the Aug. 23 Catch A Glimpse Stakes at Woodbine by 3 1/4 lengths in her second career start for trainer Mark Casse. Jockey Jose Ortiz picks up the mount from post 7 for her United States debut.

The Miss Grillo is race 8 with post time at 4:42 p.m. ET.